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Title Large-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana: The Impact on the Local Population
Date 2014
Author(s) Sørensen, Bo
Contributor(s) Lunde, Per; Schmidt, Søren
Abstract Mining in Ghana now accounts for about 5 percent of the country's GDP and about 41 percent of the countrys total export earnings. Gold is the key resource for the country's economy, accounting for more than 95 percent of total mineral export earnings. Newmont, the second largest gold producer in the world with around 40,000 employees and contractors worldwide, are one of the dominating foreign multinational companies in Ghana. They are currently operating one mine pit (Ahafo mine) and starting production of a second (Akyem mine) in Ghana. The Ahafo mine started production in 2006 and in 2010, produced 545,000 oz of gold equivalent to around 17 percent of Ghana's total production. Approximately 11.000 people around the Ahafo mine has been effected by the mining activities and approximately 6.000 have lost both residential buildings and cropped fields.<br/>Studies suggest that large-scale mining can have major consequences for the people who live around these mines and based on Newmonts Ahafo mine as a case study, the focus of this report is to analyze to which extent Newmonts large-scale gold mining effects the local communities who live around the mine. Newmont emphasizes, in their corporate social responsibility policies, that they want to be considered as part of the communities they interact with and thus seeks to build a foundation of trust with local communities. Their philosophy is to develop informed and participative approaches in their engagements with stakeholders and build a sustainable mining business that focus on safety, environmental stewardship and social responsibility consistent with standards that are protective of both human health and the environment.<br/>Despite this, we see a clear tendency were the resettled farmers situation generally have become worse after they had been resettled. They have experienced that wells have been contaminated so that people and animals have become ill from drinking the water as well as sound and air pollution associated with blasting in the mine pits. They have challenges of unemployment, paying for water and food, providing firewood and clean drinking water. Children are now less educated than before, resettled farmers are unable to cultivate the land or get a permanent job and there are environmental pollution of soil and streams that most likely goes far beyond Newmonts longevity in the area. All clear evidence that Newmont have failed to fulfill their own policies whithin social and environmental responsibility.
Subject(s) Large-Scale Mining; Ghana; Gold; Sustainability; Development
Coverage 43 pages
Language eng
Relation Udvikling og Internationale Relationer, Kandidat; Development and International Relations, Master; 3. semester; 3. term; http://vbn.aau.dk/ws/files/174854116/P9.pdf
Type of publication TERMPAPER
Format application/pdf
Repository Aalborg - Aalborg University
Added to C-A: 2016-09-22;13:12:15