The Convenor of the Ghana Coalition Against Illegal Mining, Ing. Dr. Ken Ashigbey, has warned that Ghana’s gold could soon lose its value on the international market due to growing contamination caused by illegal mining activities.
Dr. Ashigbey painted a worrying picture of the situation, urging urgent national action to halt the environmental and economic damage.
“Our gold may soon be rejected on the international market due to the increasing scale of contamination by illegal miners,” he cautioned on The Key Points on TV3 on Saturday, September 20.
“We need the National House of Chiefs to start calling out Chiefs who are complicit in the illegal mining activity.”
Dr. Ashigbey also proposed stern measures against traditional leaders who allow or benefit from the menace.
“We may also have to consider confiscating lands from Chiefs who are involved in giving our lands to illegal miners,” he said.
He further renewed the coalition’s call for decisive government intervention, emphasizing the scale of the crisis.
“We still demand that the President declare a state of emergency because we have over 7,000 excavators out there causing mass destruction to water bodies and forest reserves,” he stated.
He said this on the back of the national outcry over the environmental devastation caused by galamsey, as polluted rivers, destroyed farmlands, and poisoned soils continue to threaten the country’s sustainability and reputation in the global gold trade.
