Illegal mining or Galamsey is going to cost us a lot of colossal damage than we can fathom now. The continual perpetuation of this menace without a decisive check or truncation is going to lead to a major health disaster and so this is a clarion call on the Government and the necessary authorities like the MINCOM to maximize its efforts to avert the catastrophic situation that awaits the nation Ghana if this menace is not abruptly stopped.
Mining has to be done at all cost, yes indeed as a trained metallurgical engineer I know too well that minerals do not benefit anyone if it remains under the earth’s crust, but the problem and challenge is the crooked methods being deployed without any regard for the environment.
Mining really requires a lot of water for the beneficiation process to liberate the gold and get it extracted. But, unlike the large scale mines, which harvest water and use in their sediment ponds that are recycled for processing of the ore, and the resulting pulp or slurry directed into a well-controlled containment called the tailings dam, which is very much monitored with piezometers and other methods to prevent seepage into any river or environment. The Illegal miners or galamseyers, are not prepared to invest into the construction of dams into which they might harvest water or collect water to use for their washing process on the trommels. They want to spend little and but, expect much return from their gold exploitation. The large mines have to post reclamation bonds, just to ensure that EPA is certain they would reclaim the land after the mining ceases or is decommissioned. But, the galamseyers do none of these.
The use of mercury during the amalgamation process ends up releasing mercury into the atmosphere, since the mercury is used to separate the quartz or rock which has specific gravity of around 2.65 and mercury, 13.6 and gold 19.3. This allows, the gold that is mix with the sand to sink when placed in mercury and then the quartz floats to the top of the mercury. The gold together with the mercury is then subjected to heating which allows the mercury to sublime, leaving the raw gold, this in effect is the amalgamation process.
Mercury and the other heavy metals like manganese, cadmium, zinc, nickel, arsenic and cobalt usually associated with the gold ore are liberated during the beneficiation process and released into the water bodies into which the slurries are discharged. This metals usually, percolate and permeate the water table and can be transported to quite some distance from their point of discharge. Polluting underground water courses.
The effects of mercury and other metals are widely known. This are effects on the nervous system, the digestive system, the immune system, lungs, kidneys, skin, eyes and sometimes converting into Minamata disease, when swallowed by fish which is very deadly to the human being. The other heavy metals, such as cadmium, lead, arsenic, manganese, cobalt, lead to various organ damage, effect on the cardiovascular system and the risk of cancer.
These galamseyers have already signed their death warrant through their exposure to these chemicals and heavy metals through their greed and quest to get rich quick. But, they are not creating death for themselves a lone but are poisoning the entire water system both surface and underground, which is going to lead to a major health disaster in the near future. This is why the call for a state of emergency is required in these areas of the galamsey sites to ensure the war zones that they have created are really turned on them and they being dealt with. Because even our enemies would have spared us this agony if we were to be at war. They need to be targeted and shot at to eliminate them before they extinct the entire generation now and/or future generations.
Ghana is already battling with climate change risks such as, erratic rainfall patterns, rise in temperatures, sea rise and coastal erosions, floods as well as droughts with worse predictions for the future, which would have eminent health effects in the various ecological regions of the country. These risks, including lost of biodiversity and forest cover which is being exacerbated by the galamsey menace would create an enormous health effects with its associated health cost which will impact the already stressed health budget of the nation.
The nation as a whole must with the steering of its leaders face these challenges head on now, before the situation gets out of hand and the very severe consequences overwhelms us. Let’s act now before it is too late.
The writer is a Professional Engineer (PE- GhIE), Certified Fellow and global business analyst (FCGBA), Chartered Safety Professional (CMIOSH), Lead Risk Manager, Lead ISO Auditor and Trainer, Lean Practitioner.
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