Mining in forests and water bodies cannot be tolerated - GoldBod CEO

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, has clarified remarks he made at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in March on where artisanal and small-scale mining can legally take place, saying a clip of his speech is being circulated without key context.

In a statement, Gyamfi said three forms of unlicensed artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) are “irredeemably wrong” and can neither be tolerated nor reformed. These are mining that affects water bodies, mining in forest reserves, and mining in “obscene places” within communities, such as roadsides, school lands, and bedrooms, that endanger society and public health.

He said, however, that once ASM operators are not mining in any of those places and are not harming the environment, their mineralised area meets the eligibility requirement for formalisation, even if they hold no licence. Such areas, he said, can be declared fit for cooperative mining under the government’s Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP).

Gyamfi described rCOMSDEP as a formalisation initiative designed to turn unlicensed miners into licensed and responsible ones, in order to promote sustainability in the sector. He maintained that formalising such miners is a better approach than “chasing them with soldiers”.

The GoldBod CEO accused those sharing the video of cutting it “mischievously”. He said the portion in circulation leaves out important details of his explanation of what government is willing to do to help such miners obtain the appropriate legal documentation, certifications, permits, and training for sustainable small-scale mining.

According to Gyamfi, ASM formalisation and traceability is the “new paradigm shift” in Ghana’s quest for sustainability in the sector. He said providing formalisation, training, and financing support to miners whose activities do not harm water bodies, forest reserves, or communities is a crucial imperative in the fight against irresponsible mining.

The clarification comes amid continued public debate over illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey. Some critics, including Professor Stephen Adei, have alleged that GoldBod effectively legitimises illegal mining. GoldBod has rejected such claims, saying it buys gold from licensed aggregators and not from illegal miners. The board’s mandate under Act 1140 includes promoting the formalisation of small-scale mining through responsible sourcing and traceability.

Gyamfi has previously argued that enforcement alone cannot solve the problem. Speaking in a Space conversation on X on August 9, 2026, he said Ghana legalised ASM in 1989, but successive governments failed to provide the support needed to make the sector sustainable.

He has also announced that GoldBod will roll out an ASM Formalization and Financing Support Program next year, in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the University of Mines and Technology, and Rand Refinery.