Illegal Mining: Foreign Galamseyers Reaping Supernormal Profits at Ghana’s Expense – Joe Jackson
Chief Executive Officer of Dalex Finance, Joe Jackson, has raised critical concerns about the economic and environmental cost of illegal mining activities in Ghana, stating that the country continues to suffer from systemic failures in accounting for the true cost of mining operations.
Speaking during an X Space discussion jointly hosted by NorvanReports and the Economic Governance Platform (EGP) on Thursday, April 17, under the theme “Mining, Power and Protectionism: Who Really Benefits From the Deportation of Foreign Galamseyers?”, Mr Jackson asserted that Ghana has failed to properly factor in the environmental degradation and land restoration costs associated with mining activities.
“First of all, one of the things we don’t do well in this country is to cost what mining takes out of us,” he noted. “Mining by its very nature destroys some part of the ground. The restoration of that place, if it is damaged, should be part of the cost to the country.”
According to him, the failure to integrate restoration costs into mining operations has created an unfair advantage for illegal miners, who reap “extraordinary” profits without making any investment in land reclamation or environmental sustainability.
“If you’re a big enough mine, you may attempt to reclaim and look out for environmental damage,” he said. “But when the small mine or the mine that is using illegal methods goes in, all you’re doing is making supernormal profits because they don’t invest even the barest minimum to fix the land they have destroyed.”
He argued that the absence of regulatory enforcement has empowered illegal mine owners – many of whom are foreigners – to accumulate significant financial muscle, enabling them to manipulate local politics and enforcement mechanisms.
“We’ve given them extraordinary financial muscle because of the extraordinary profits they are making,” he asserted. “They can now entice our politicians to dance to their tune and behave as if they were mafia dogs.”
Addressing the issue of the deportation of foreign illegal miners, Mr Jackson described the current approach as ineffective and even incentivising.
“What are we saying? That if I’m a foreigner and you catch me, the worst that can happen is that I get sent to my country?” he questioned. “That cannot be right. In fact, aren’t we then saying that it is better to be a foreign illegal miner in Ghana than to be a local one?”
He added that the repatriation of illegal profits, sometimes on a weekly basis, further underscores the leniency afforded to foreign offenders, which in turn undermines local law enforcement efforts.
“Anybody who owns a mine with an illegal operation is stealing money from the people of Ghana because they are selling gold at the same price as the legally operating bigger mines,” he emphasized. “They will only make a profit because they are not counting the true cost.”
Mr Jackson concluded by stressing that the current system enriches mine owners while the country bears the brunt of environmental destruction and economic loss.
