Beyond crackdowns: formalising West Africa’s gold mining sector
Channel: ISSAfricaTV
Date: 2023-11-29

West Africa’s complex artisanal gold mining industry faces major challenges. The pervasive informality of mining makes the sector vulnerable to criminal exploitation and limits its development potential.

Efforts to combat artisanal gold mining in West Africa have tended to follow a punitive approach of criminalisation and ‘crackdowns’. This seminar draws on extensive regional consultations to inform a discussion of alternative responses that can help countries harness the full potential of their gold mining sectors.

Moderator: Robert Ali Tanti, Centre for Social Impact Studies, Ghana

Opening remarks: ECOWAS, European Union, Germany and GIZ representatives

Panelists:

Gideon Osofu Peasah, West Africa Extractives Coordinator, Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime
Representative, Mauritania Mining Commission (TBC)
Dr Ishmael Quaicoe, Coordinator, Sustainable Artisanal and Small-scale Mining Hub, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana