At least 160 Chinese miners have been arrested in Ghana as part of an ongoing government crackdown on illegal gold mining.
The Chinese nationals, who have been charged over allegations of unauthorised mining and illegal immigration, have been arrested in regions across the country, including the gold-rich central Ashanti region. They bring the number of Chinese detained by the Ghanaian immigration service over the past month to 181.
John Dramani Mahama, President of Ghana, began the crackdown on foreign nationals working in small-scale gold mines in May. Known as “galamsey”, illegal mining is held to be responsible for not only land conflicts but environmental damage, causing “runoff” that pollutes water supplies.
Speaking last week, a spokesman for the Ghana Minerals Commission, Isaac Kojo Abraham, stated that “all such people doing illegal mining in Ghana without the requisite documentation will be flushed out”.
Ghana is the continent’s largest gold producer after South Africa, and the twelfth largest in the world, mining last year 89 metric tonnes. Most of the Chinese miners, of whom there are thought to be as many of 12,000 in Ghana, are said to be from the impoverished region of Shanglin, in China’s southwest Guangxi province, and are flocking to West Africa as part of a renewed “gold rush”.
Yu Jie, speaking for the Chinese embassy in Ghana, told China’s Xinhua news agency that they “have cautioned all the Chinese people in Ghana to strictly abide by the related laws and regulations”. The embassy, having negotiated for the detainees’ release since 6 June, secured this week the safe passage of all those arrested back to China.
Nonetheless there are thought to be thousands more Chinese miners hiding in Ghana. Speaking to the Financial Times, some said they fear violence from the security forces. Last October, a 16-year-old Chinese boy was killed in a crackdown on an illegal mine, and Chinese websites are currently circulating images of alleged victims of police brutality.
Yet Michael Amoako-Atta, a spokesman for Ghana’s immigration service, has denied any maltreatment. “Not a single bullet has been fired against Chinese workers. None have been beaten. All of these allegations are untrue”.
Ghana’s Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Inusah Fuseini, promised that the crackdown will last until 14 June, although there will be a further “mop up” following this.
“We intend not to leave a single non-Ghanaian miner working in the small-scale mining sector”, he said.
