In Ghana, thousands of young people are risking their lives and futures in illegal small-scale gold mining — known locally as galamsey, a term derived from the words “gather and sell.” Driven by poverty, unemployment, and a lack of opportunity, young men descend into unstable pits with no safety equipment, while others toil in vast open-cast mines where mercury is widely used to separate gold from ore. The mercury seeps into rivers and soil, contaminating drinking water, destroying farmland, and threatening the health of entire communities. Once-fertile landscapes have been transformed into barren wastelands, with river systems clogged by silt and poisoned by toxins.
Miners endure chronic health problems from toxic exposure and dangerous working conditions. Communities that once thrived on farming and fishing now face displacement, loss of livelihoods, and a future clouded by uncertainty. As the government struggles to clamp down on galamsey, miners argue it is their only chance of survival in a system that offers few alternatives. The photographs capture this fragile balance: the desperation and determination of those who gather gold to feed their families, and the devastating cost of an economy built on exploitation of both people and land.
Ultimately, this story uncovers the human face of a national crisis — where short-term survival is pitted against long-term ruin — and asks urgent questions about how communities, policymakers, and the global gold industry can address the environmental and human catastrophe unfolding in Ghana’s mining regions.
*This project was supported by the Pulitzer Center.
Malik Galamsey
Malik 29 mines for gold in a surface pit near the town of Obuasi in Ghana s Ashanti Region His work may appear simple but the system sustaining illegal mining is upheld by wealth and influence
Surface Mining
A group of galamsey miners work in a surface pit near Obuasi Ghana part of the vast informal gold mining economy known locally as galamsey
Digging for Gold
Galamsey miners extract gold from an unofficial pit in Ghana s Ashanti Region
Extracting Gold
In Ghana s Ashanti Region galamsey miners extract gold by pumping water from an unregulated surface pit
Into the Abyss
Peter a galamsey miner descends into a pit without safety equipment Mining gold is not easy he says Sometimes you can spend up to 24 hours underground
On the Surface
At a small-scale mining site in Ghana s Upper East Region two young girls sit beside Nana the pit owner right and Patrick the pit manager
Out of the Pit
Peter a galamsey miner emerges from a pit soaked in sweat
Galamsey Guys
In Ghana s Upper East Region young galamsey miners gather around while their colleagues wash silt part of the laborious process of extracting small traces of gold
Washing for Gold
A galamsey miner washes silt to separate out tiny flecks of gold part of the arduous process of small-scale mining in Ghana
Finding Gold
The shimmer of gold comes at a hidden cost mercury used in extraction leaches into rivers and soils leaving lasting scars on health and environment
Mercury
In Ghana s galamsey mines mercury is commonly used to separate gold from ore Its release into rivers contaminates water supplies and endangers communities
Pit Owner
Nana a small-scale pit owner sits on the surface of one of his mines He has worked in gold mining for nearly five decades