Study Finds Toxic Metals Across Savannah Mining Communities

EU-funded studies of small-scale gold mining in Ghana’s Savannah Region found cadmium above recommended levels in every soil sample and mercury above them in about 94 percent, with children and women facing particular exposure risks. The research also found that just 2.92 percent of respondents held mining licenses and about 74 percent did not know the rules, alongside weak enforcement and coordination and security concerns in the Black Volta border area. Yet mining-community households earn nearly six times as much as non-mining households, underscoring the economic pressures behind the trade. Researchers and officials called for coordinated action to bring mining within the law and involve communities, traditional leaders, women, young people and migrant miners.