Ghana

Min/Max/Total: DELVE-19 protracts data from HIL-16, but (reported?) gold production has significantly increased (from 4.1 tons in 2014 to 65 tons in 2021), 1,100,000 is considered as MIN, with MAX extrapolated as 1,300,000. Total population estimate therefore somewhere in between, i.e. 1,200,000
Female participation: “45–75% female miners” estimated as 600,000.
Gold: As per GEF-21, 500,000 - 1,000,000. Dataset uses average of 750,000.

2021: 500,000 - 1,000,000 ASGM

(GEF-21): 500,000 - 1,000,000 ASGM (only gold)

People employed in ASGM: 500,000 - 1,000,000
Gold produced (kg/year): 65,000
Mercury released (kg/year): 43,000

2019: 1,100,000

DELVE-19: Country Profile Ghana 1,100,000

ASM Employment: 1.1 million directly, 4.4 million indirectly 
Female Miners: 45–75%
Formalization: 70–80% informal 

Materials mined by ASM
• Gold: 1.135 million ounces (produced in 2016)
• Diamond: 86,925 carats (exported in 2017)
• Salt: 250,000 tons (average per year)

2018: 1,100,000

(IGF-18): Table 3

Directly working in ASM: 1,100,000
Estimated number of dependents: 4,400,000
Main Minerals: Gold, Diamonds, Sand

2016: 1,100,000

(HIL-16):

Directly working in ASM: 1,100,000
Estimated number of dependents: 4,400,000

2014: 406,000

(UBC-14): Gold-only data produced by statistic modelling:

Expected ASM population: 406,000 
Estimated ASM gold production: 4.1 t/a

2013: 190,000

(IIED-13): 180,000 - 200,000

2003: 200,000

(MMSD-03): Estimate for MMSD research country: 200,000
MMSD study by G.Hilson (http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G00722.pdf)

1999: 175,000

(ILO-99): Employment: 50,000 - 300,000
Number of mines: 400 - 700
Illegal mines: 10% - 50%

ReferenceYearCitationArchived CopyLink
AMDC-172017AMDC (2017): ASM Sector Report. Selected countries policy profile review of ASMamdc-17.pdfknowledge.uneca.org/…
ARM-182018Barreto, M.L.,Schein, P., Hinton, J., Hruschka, F. (2018): The Impact of Small-Scale Mining Operations on Economies and Livelihoods in Low- to Middle-Income Countries. ARM, Envigado, PACT, Westcombe.arm-18.pdfresponsiblemines.org/…
IIED-132013Buxton, A. (2013): Responding to the challenge of artisanal and small-scale mining. How can knowledge networks help? IIED, London.iied-13.pdfpubs.iied.org/…
GEF-212021GEF (2021): Second phase of planetGOLD doubles countries addressing mercury in ASGM. Article on PlanetGOLD website, 29 March 2021gef-21.pdfplanetgold.org/…
MMSD-032003Hentschel, T., Hruschka, F., Priester, M. (2003): Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining - Challenges and Opportunities. MMSD (IIED), London.mmsd-03.pdfpubs.iied.org/…
HIL-162016Hilson, G. (2016): Artisanal and small-scale mining and agriculture: Exploring their links in rural sub-Saharan Africa. IIED, London.hil-16.pdfpubs.iied.org/…
IGF-182018IGF (2018): Global Trends in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM): A review of key numbers and issues. IIED/IISD, London, Winnipeg.igf-18.pdfiisd.org/…
ILO-991999Jennings, N. (1999): Social and labour issues in small-scale mines. Report for discussion at the Tripartite Meeting on Social and Labour Issues in Small-scale Mines. ILO, Geneva.ilo-99.pdfilo.org/…
UBC-142014Seccatore, J., Veiga, M., et al. (Univ. of British Columbia - UBC) (2014): An estimation of the artisanal small-scale production of gold in the world. Scitotenv. 496.ubc-14.pdfdoi.org/…
GMA-182018UNEP (2018): Global Mercury Assessment 2018. Technical Background Report E-Annex. Chapter 3.2. UNEP, Geneva.gma-18.pdfwedocs.unep.org/…
DELVE-192019World Bank (2019): 2019 State of the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Sector. World Bank, Washington D.C.delve-19.pdfdelvedatabase.org/…
ASM DATA - Country Database Record
Country CodeGHA
CountryGhana
ASM StatusExisting (data assessed)
Country Count1
Data year2016
Publ. year2021
ASM Miners1,200,000
- gold750 ,000
Data curation extrapolated
Inc. DevMinsome
- min.1,100,000
- max.1,300,000
- female600 ,000
ASM Commoditiesgold, diamond, salt, sand
  • country/ghana.txt
  • Last modified: 2022/11/11
  • by Felix Hruschka