Soil contamination found in Ghana’s Savannah mining regions

An EU-funded study under the Gold for Good (G4G) Project has revealed widespread heavy metal contamination in the soil of mining communities within Ghana’s Savannah Region. The research, which covered the West Gonja Municipality, Bole District, and Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District, found that cadmium levels exceeded safe guidelines in every sample tested. Additionally, mercury levels were above recommended limits in approximately 94 percent of the samples.

The study, which involved surveying 953 respondents across 30 communities and mapping 94 mining sites, also highlighted significant regulatory gaps. Only 2.92 percent of respondents reported holding a mining licence, and roughly 74 percent were unaware of the regulations governing mining activities. Despite the contamination, households in these areas reported average incomes nearly six times higher than those in non-mining communities.

Alhaji Yusif Sulemana, the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, stated that the data provides necessary evidence to drive coordinated action against illegal mining, locally known as galamsey. Furthermore, researchers noted security concerns regarding unregulated mining along the Black Volta tri-border frontier, citing migrant networks and armed informal security groups in areas with limited state presence.