From the 17th to the 20th century, a region situated in the sub-region of West Africa along the Gulf of Guinea was known as the “Gold Coast”…-Pauline Lalondrelle et Lara Maye
Europe struck Gold!
This place was an intense source of colonial rivalry between the Portuguese, English, Danes, and French. They all fought for its ivory, its slaves but mainly for its gold, which gave this region its name. “The Gold Coast” disappeared on the 6th March of 1957 to become the Republic of Ghana.[1]
Ghana going for gold…
In 2018, Ghana was the biggest producer of gold in the world. This gold is highly in demand from emerging market central banks like China, India, Russia and Turkey, seeking to increase their holdings of gold to diversify their asset bases. It is also sold to specialised markets for industrial or artistic uses.[2] Ghana’s economic growth rate for 2019 is estimated at 8.8%, the fastest growing in the world due to cocoa, petrol and, of course, gold.[3] Those earnings are especially used to develop tourism and culture. Between 2014 and 2018, public funding for tourism and culture has thus increased by 120%.[4]
Becoming a Gold Digger…
If gold mining has contributed to Ghana’s socio-economic development, its impacts have been less than brilliant on the population and the environment. The Ghanaian government leases land to multinational mining companies, land which is taken from the local populations who do not receive any compensation.[5] Gold refining leads to contamination of the soil, agriculture is no longer possible in the areas affected. Furthermore, mercury pollution has made the water in the areas undrinkable and kills fish.[6]
Thus, gold is a valuable resource that generates profound imbalances: the destruction of the country’s natural heritage is the price to get out of misery for some Ghanaians and to develop other economics sectors.
Photo: © Jonathan Ernst/World Ban
Appendix
Sika k?k?? means “gold” in Akan/Twi, the language of the Asante or Ashanti spoken by several million people in the south-central Ghana.
Pauline Lalondrelle et Lara Maye
[1] Hilson G. (2012). Harvesting mineral riches: 1000 years of gold mining in Ghana. Environmental Policy and Management Group (EPMG), Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Royal School of Mines,Prince Consort Road, London.
[2] Kansoun L.-N. (8 May 2019). Métaux précieux : les leaders et leurs perspectives en Afrique. Agence ecofin.
[3] Naidoo P. & Wallace P. (10 Avril 2019). Ghana Is the Star in IMF’s 2019 Economic Growth Forecast. Bloomberg.
[4] Azimi R. (20 May 2019). Par petites touches ou de manière affirmée, l’Afrique s’est fait une place à la Biennale de Venise. Le Monde.
[5] Tuokuu F., Kpinpuo S. & Hinson R. (May 2019). Sustainable development in Ghana’s gold mines: Clarifying the stakeholder’s perspective in « Journal of Sustainable Mining », Vol. 18, Issue 2, pp. 77-84.
[6] Hilson G. (March 2002). The environmental impact of small-scale goldmining in Ghana: identifying problems and possible solutions in « The Geographical Journal », Vol.168, No. 1, pp. 57-72.
Literature:
Azimi R. (20 May 2019). Par petites touches ou de manière affirmée, l’Afrique s’est fait une place à la Biennale de Venise. Le Monde. Available at : https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2019/05/19/par-petites-touches-ou-de-maniere-affirmee-l-afrique-s-est-fait-une-place-a-la-biennale-de-venise_5464266_3212.html, (accessed: 23 Mai 2019).
Hilson G. (March 2002). The environmental impact of small-scale goldmining in Ghana: identifying problems andpossible solutions in « The Geographical Journal », Vol.168, No. 1, pp. 57–72.
Hilson G. (2012). Harvesting mineral riches: 1000 years of gold mining in Ghana. Environmental Policy and Management Group (EPMG), Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Royal School of Mines,Prince Consort Road, London.
Kansoun L.-N. (8 May 2019). Métaux précieux : les leaders et leurs perspectives en Afrique. Agence ecofin.
Available at : https://www.agenceecofin.com/hebdop2/0805-65947-metaux-precieux-les-leaders-et-leurs-perspectives-en-afrique, (accessed: 29 May 2019).
Naidoo P. & Wallace P. (10 Avril 2019). Ghana Is the Star in IMF’s 2019 Economic Growth Forecast. Bloomberg. Available at : https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-10/ghana-is-the-star-in-imf-s-2019-economic-growth-forecast-chart, (accessed: 20 May 2019).
Tuokuu F., Kpinpuo S. & Hinson R. (May 2019). Sustainable development in Ghana’s gold mines: Clarifying the stakeholder’s perspective in « Journal of Sustainable Mining », Vol. 18, Issue 2, pp. 77-84. Available at : https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2300396018300934, (accessed: 26 May 2019).