Ghana's boom in artisanal mining has brought a surge in health problems for local communities. Study finds mercury in soil 130 times over safe limit, leaving many with kidney disorders often undetected until too late.

Obuasi

Ghana's illegal artisanal gold mining sector, known locally as Galamsey, is increasingly using mercury to extract gold, resulting in significant environmental and health hazards. Mercury used in the extraction process evaporates into the air, contaminates soil and water, and enters the food chain, with government studies showing soil readings far above safe levels. The gold ore also contains high levels of arsenic, compounding the toxic impact.

Many miners and community members have suffered from mercury poisoning, often without realizing the cause of their illnesses, which include kidney disorders. Due to limited medical resources in affected areas, these conditions frequently go undiagnosed or are only identified at advanced stages. Environmentalists warn that this pattern of pollution and health crisis could spread further across Ghana's mining regions, raising concerns about the true cost of the country's gold boom.

Behind Ghana's golden windfall: Toxic trails and human cost

Digging for gold in Ghana's illegal artisanal mining sector, known as Galamsey. As people seek better futures, they also look for more efficient methods. Increasingly, miners mix liquid mercury with gold-bearing soil or sediment to form a blend, which they then burn to extract the gold. But the mercury evaporates into the air, contaminates nearby soil and water, and eventually makes the food chain toxic. A government study found soil readings in some areas over 130 times the safe levels. There are also often high levels of arsenic in the gold ore, and this cocktail of contamination has been taking a heavy toll. We didn't know. We used to suck the mercury into our mouth and throat so that we could get the gold. Eventually all the guys working with mercury got sick. But when they got sick, we didn't think it was the mercury that brought the illnesses. We put into our minds that we had committed a sin against the gods. Many of the victims suffer kidney disorders, and these are often not detected early. The majority of these cases usually go unnoticed for a very long while, and that is the dangerous part of it. In the clinical setting, usually when such patients complicate is when probably diagnosis is done, because areas where you find such clients do not have the necessary facilities to do the diagnosis, and so they may be in and out of hospital a number of times before they are referred to the tertiary facility for the final diagnosis or the appropriate diagnosis to be done for treatment to commence. And environmentalists worry this could be replicated on a much larger scale. Toxic pollution largely from the unregulated mining is widespread across all of Ghana's mining regions, and for many communities, this price of gold is already too high. For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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