If Gold Rusts, What Then Will Silver Do? A Renewed Call for a Collective National Response to Galamsey

Introduction

“If gold is rusting, what then becomes of silver?” This question reflects the seriousness of Ghana’s ongoing struggle with illegal mining, popularly known as Galamsey. When personnel tasked with protecting our natural resources face attacks, it becomes a stark reminder that the challenge before us is more complex than it appears.

Recently, members of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), established to help address illegal mining activities, encountered significant resistance during operations at various sites. These encounters highlight the increasingly complex tactics used by illegal mining groups and the evolving challenges faced by security personnel.

When enforcement efforts encounter such sophisticated and adaptive resistance, it becomes evident that Galamsey is not simply a matter of breaking the law but a complex challenge that must be continually reconsidered. This reality calls for a more probing examination of the economic incentives, institutional weaknesses, environmental conditions, and community-level dynamics that enable illegal mining to persist despite repeated interventions. By unpacking these underlying drivers and the ways they reinforce one another, it becomes possible to design responses that are both realistic in practice and more likely to achieve lasting impact.

A Growing Health Concern

Recent media reports have highlighted the presence of heavy metals such as mercury, cyanide, and lead in certain food crops and water sources in regions affected by illegal mining. Even if one does not reside in these areas, the concern remains relevant because food and produce are distributed widely across the country. Vegetables, fish, rice, and other items sold in markets and restaurants may originate from such regions. As consumers, we all face potential exposure, making this not a regional issue but a national one.

Galamsey is a National Crisis

We must acknowledge that Galamsey is no longer a localized challenge; it has become a national crisis. Its destructive impact cuts across regions, water bodies, and generations. Farmlands are degraded, rivers are polluted, and agricultural livelihoods are increasingly threatened. As such, the fight against illegal mining must be treated with the urgency and seriousness required to protect national resources and future sustainability.

The Web of Complicity and Alternative Livelihoods

Those recorded fleeing mining sites during enforcement operations represent only a small part of a larger and more intricate system. There is a wide network of individuals and services whose livelihoods are tied, directly or indirectly, to illegal mining. These include traders, food and water vendors, drinking spot operators, transport operators, tailors, hairdressers, equipment dealers, informal security providers, gold buyers, financiers, and others within local communities.

Whenever illegal mining sites are shut down, the economic activities linked to them are disrupted, impacting many individuals and small businesses that have relied on this informal economy for their livelihoods. This highlights the importance of developing a comprehensive and inclusive strategy that goes beyond enforcement. It is not enough to focus solely on the miners; we must also create viable economic alternatives for the wider network that has traditionally depended on Galamsey. By re-engaging these groups through sustainable, well-structured livelihood opportunities, we can support a transition that enables communities to thrive without relying on illegal mining.

The Land Ownership Question

In Ghana, land ownership is vested in the state, stools/skins, families, or individuals. Land disputes remain common, and it is unlikely that mining activities occur within a community without some form of local approval or knowledge. Strengthening accountability within land administration systems is therefore essential.

Those who knowingly make their lands available for illegal mining must follow the appropriate legal processes. Measures such as enhanced monitoring, clearer documentation, and enforcement of existing land regulations can help deter unauthorized mining activities. Addressing the issue at the level of land access is a critical part of the solution.

Civic and Social Education

Civic and social education are essential in addressing the Galamsey challenge, and schools play a critical role in this effort. Within the social studies curriculum, teaching about Galamsey, its environmental destruction, health hazards, and socio-economic consequences would help students understand why reversing this practice is necessary. Many individuals turn to Galamsey due to limited economic options, but through civic awareness, social empowerment, and targeted education in schools, they can better appreciate the long-term consequences of such activities and the benefits of lawful, sustainable alternatives.

Institutions such as the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) already play a vital role in reinforcing these lessons through ongoing public campaigns and community engagement. However, given the persistent nature of the Galamsey menace, there is a need for sustained and intensified educational efforts. Continuous civic and social education will deepen the sense of collective responsibility, strengthen community participation, and promote behaviors that safeguard national resources and support sustainable development.

Conclusion: A Call to National Conscience

The persistence of illegal mining is more than a failure of enforcement; it exposes deeper weaknesses in our collective discipline, values and sense of responsibility towards land, water, and future generations. If we look away, our rivers will continue to darken, our soils will lose their strength, and we will quietly consent to hand over a poorer environmental inheritance and reduced opportunities to those who come after us. The real question, therefore, is not only how to stop Galamsey in the present, but what kind of society we are choosing to become through the choices we make about our natural resources today.

Within this reality, the image of “gold” and “silver” becomes a useful test of our national conscience. If the nation’s security personnel, the gold of our collective defence, are being stretched by increasingly sophisticated operations on the ground, then the silver, the wider citizenry, cannot remain passive. The quality of the silver will determine whether the gold can keep its shine; citizens who refuse to normalise the proceeds of illegal mining, who support lawful alternatives and who insist on integrity in how land and rivers are treated, help turn enforcement into a truly national effort. If both gold and silver align in purpose, we stand a far better chance of protecting what has been entrusted to us and of telling future generations that we chose stewardship over short-term gain.

May God bless our homeland, Ghana, and make her great and strong!

Eric Adu (Esq.)
(NCCE Ahafo Regional Director)

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