Galamsey - Illegal Diamond Mining of Ghana
Illegal diamond mining in Ghana is concentrated in the Birim Valley. Akim Wenchi is a small town in Western North Region of Ghana. Illegal miners called “galamsey” in local language. These small groups are often arrested and there tools destroyed. Their daily livelihood heavily depend on galamsey. Stopping small-scale illegal mining can lead them to robberies. A galamsey can earn around 170 dollars a month, but the damage of the dump waste in the waterbodies and soil caused by illegal mining and gold mining is unmeasurable. The contaminated rivers poison the drinking water, the fish, the soil, animals, the food. Moreover working at the mines causes serious diseases. 70 percent of Ghana’s diamond was mined and smuggled in the early eighties, nowadays the country’s diamond output is around 300,000 carats per year.
