A prominent mining executive has proposed completely abandoning Ghana’s small-scale mining legal framework, arguing that outdated assumptions embedded in the law have enabled illegal mining to flourish unchecked. Y B Amponsah, Managing Director of Blue Gold Bogoso Prestea Limited, called for replacing the current system with a medium-scale mining regime that would impose stricter technical, financial and environmental standards on operators.
Speaking on Asaase Radio’s Breakfast Show Monday, Amponsah described Ghana’s small-scale mining laws as founded on flawed assumptions that no longer match operational realities. “When the law was first promulgated, it assumed that operators would use only pickaxes and shovels,” he said. “That was a wrong assumption that we allowed to roll into the law. Today, the reality is completely different, they’re using excavators, involving foreigners, and mining far beyond the 10-hectare limit.”
The proposed overhaul comes as President John Mahama’s administration intensifies efforts to combat illegal mining, known as galamsey, which has devastated water bodies and forest reserves. Government recently announced comprehensive measures including new permit regimes for excavator imports and improved tracking of heavy-duty mining equipment to curb illegal operations.
Amponsah argued that current legislation reserving small-scale mining for Ghanaians using traditional methods is out of touch with modern operational scale and can no longer effectively regulate the sector. “We need to ravish it, put it in the dustbin, and create a medium-scale mining regime,” he stated. “This will ensure only operators with technical capacity, financial backing, and environmental compliance can participate.”
His proposal suggests encouraging local miners to form cooperatives and apply for medium-scale licenses meeting the same environmental and safety standards required of large-scale operators. According to Amponsah, such a framework would make mining more economically viable and environmentally sustainable while generating greater state revenue.
The timing of these recommendations carries additional significance given Blue Gold’s ongoing legal dispute with the government over the Bogoso-Prestea Mine. Former Lands Minister Samuel Abu Jinapor terminated the company’s mining lease in September 2024 for allegedly failing to meet certain conditions, subsequently granting the lease to Heath Goldfields. Blue Gold has filed a $1 billion arbitration claim against Ghana, alleging unlawful expropriation and reputational damage.
Amponsah dismissed calls for declaring a state of emergency to fight illegal mining, describing the idea as unnecessary and reactionary. “Declaring a state of emergency will not solve the problem,” he said. “We need to understand the social, economic, and financial dynamics of illegal mining and develop a process that engages operators, not just punishes them.”
He advocated for community-based, educational approaches combining communication, medical awareness, and targeted law enforcement to discourage illegal mining at its roots. This perspective contrasts with militarized interventions that have characterized previous government efforts to combat galamsey.
Estimates suggest approximately 85 percent of small-scale miners in Ghana operate illegally due to profound lack of robust regulatory mechanisms. The government has attempted various strategies including registration drives to bring miners into cooperatives for improved monitoring and enforcement, though success has proven elusive.
Amponsah warned of looming environmental disaster if illegal mining along river bodies continues unchecked, predicting miners could soon move operations into estuaries and coastal areas searching for gold deposits. “If we don’t stop this now, they will start mining under the sea. The sea will rise above the land, and Ghana will face flooding and destruction on an unprecedented scale,” he cautioned.
His apocalyptic scenario reflects growing environmental concerns over galamsey’s impact. Rivers across Ghana have been contaminated, forests destroyed, and landscapes left barren by illegal mining operations using heavy machinery and mercury processing. The environmental damage has prompted widespread public outcry and demands for decisive government action.
The proposal to completely scrap small-scale mining laws represents radical departure from reform approaches that typically focus on strengthening enforcement within existing frameworks. Amponsah’s suggestion acknowledges that the current system has failed so comprehensively that incremental improvements won’t address fundamental flaws.
Whether such dramatic legislative change proves politically feasible remains uncertain. Small-scale mining provides livelihoods for hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians, many operating in gray areas between legal and illegal. Eliminating the entire framework without viable alternatives could create social and economic disruptions that governments typically seek to avoid.
The cooperative model Amponsah proposes attempts to preserve opportunities for local miners while imposing standards that reduce environmental destruction and improve state revenue collection. Cooperatives theoretically combine resources allowing small operators to meet higher standards individually unattainable.
However, cooperative models face implementation challenges around governance, resource pooling, and ensuring all members maintain compliance. Previous attempts to organize artisanal miners into cooperatives have encountered difficulties sustaining operations and preventing members from reverting to informal practices.
Amponsah concluded that any lasting solution must be anchored in political will, honesty, and expertise rather than what he described as militarized interventions that only enrich a few. His criticism suggests skepticism about enforcement-focused approaches that emphasize seizures and arrests without addressing underlying economic incentives driving illegal mining.
The medium-scale proposal raises questions about who would qualify for licenses under stricter technical and financial requirements. Many current small-scale operators lack capital and technical capacity that higher standards would demand. Whether they could successfully transition into cooperative structures or would simply continue operating illegally represents a critical implementation challenge.
