The 'crazy gold rush' plagues Ghana: 'Disastrous'
Ghana is plagued by illegal gold mining that destroys valuable land and causes severe pollution. The gold digging in the country is called "the mad gold rush", reports the BBC.
Ghana has long been known for its large gold deposits and is the world's sixth largest gold exporter. In the past, poor men used to search for gold with simple tools, but since Chinese businessmen came to the country, the methods have changed.
Trees are cut down and the upper layers of soil are dug away. Soil masses are then transported to special locations where soil and rock are added to water and various substances, such as mercury and cyanide, to extract the gold.
- Illegal small-scale gold mining has existed for several decades in Ghana. But they have lost control in recent years with disastrous results, says agricultural expert John Manful.
Ghana is plagued by illegal gold mining that destroys valuable land and causes severe pollution. The gold digging in the country is called "the mad gold rush", reports the BBC.
Ghana has long been known for its large gold deposits and is the world's sixth largest gold exporter. In the past, poor men used to search for gold with simple tools, but since Chinese businessmen came to the country, the methods have changed.
Trees are cut down and the upper layers of soil are dug away. Soil masses are then transported to special locations where soil and rock are added to water and various substances, such as mercury and cyanide, to extract the gold.
- Illegal small-scale gold mining has existed for several decades in Ghana. But they have lost control in recent years with disastrous results, says agricultural expert John Manful.
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The artist elite in Ghana is protesting against environmental destruction
Artist Israel Derrick Apet, known as Enil Art, discovered that the water in one of Ghana's largest rivers was so polluted that he could use it in his art. That's what he says to the BBC.
- I could actually paint with the water, it was so bad.
The water had become thick and discolored from all the pollution resulting from illegal gold mining in Ghana. Now both the environmental movement and the artistic elite in the country are protesting.
At the Tidal Rave Concert festival in Accra, Black Sherif stopped his set to show a film about the devastation, Truth Ofori sang a patriotic song and Stonebowy performed "Greedy men". The song is about the illegal syndicates behind the gold mining.
Artist Israel Derrick Apet, known as Enil Art, discovered that the water in one of Ghana's largest rivers was so polluted that he could use it in his art. That's what he says to the BBC.
- I could actually paint with the water, it was so bad.
The water had become thick and discolored from all the pollution resulting from illegal gold mining in Ghana. Now both the environmental movement and the artistic elite in the country are protesting.
At the Tidal Rave Concert festival in Accra, Black Sherif stopped his set to show a film about the devastation, Truth Ofori sang a patriotic song and Stonebowy performed "Greedy men". The song is about the illegal syndicates behind the gold mining.
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