When Ghanaians talk about galamsey, the focus is often on environmental destruction, lost government revenue, Chinese machinery, or political interference. All of that matters. But behind every excavator and every muddy river stands a person; someone digging, carrying, washing, transporting, or buying gold to survive.
So who are they, and why do they join this risky sector?
Northern Ghana’s Hustlers and Trailblazers
“I came here (Tarkwa) with my junior brother”. “We are from Wa”
A large share of galamsey workers come from the northern parts of Ghana. Places like Tamale, Bawku, Bolgatanga, Wa, Damongo, and Bole. Many of these young men would traditionally travel south to work on cocoa farms or serve as head porters in cities.
Today, instead of heading to farms or markets, they head to mining towns, driven by the reality of limited job opportunities, unreliable rainfall affecting farming, and family expectations to bring money home. On the sites, they usually take on the most physically demanding jobs such as digging deep pits, carrying ore, washing gravel, believing that mining gives them a better shot at transforming their lives than anything available back home.
Volta and Oti: When Farming Income is Not Enough
Some of the youth going several meters underground for gold in Tarkwa
Young people from the Volta and Oti regions increasingly join the mining workforce too. Many of them grew up farming cassava, maize, and rice, but agriculture alone no longer guarantees security or dignity.
These migrants often start at the lower rungs in the mines; assisting with extraction, operating machines, or doing basic support work like building experience through networks of friends and relatives who went before them and encourage them to follow.
Local Mining Towns Where Gold is a Way of Life
In traditional mining communities like Wassa Akropong, Asankragua, Dunkwa, Obuasi, Prestea, and Akwatia, mining is not viewed as a criminal act; it is part of identity, culture, and history. Families in these places have mined gold for generations, long before large mining companies arrived.
“I am from Agona Swedru. I’ve been here since 2020”.
For these communities, the land does not only hold soil, it holds ancestral rights and promised wealth. Locals often become pit owners, land negotiators, explorers, and supervisors who know the land’s mineral secrets better than anyone else.
A West African Workforce
Galamsey has also become a regional labour market drawing workers from across West Africa. People arrive from Burkina Faso, Togo, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast, often following long-standing migration paths shaped by artisanal mining traditions and ECOWAS free movement rules.
These foreign workers do much more than dig; many bring technical expertise in blasting, excavator operation, and ore processing. Their arrival reflects a broader West African gold economy, not just a Ghanaian one.
Young Graduates and Urban Youth Are Joining Too
The people powering underground galamsey
The galamsey workforce is no longer only made up of rural migrants. An emerging group includes SHS graduates, diploma holders, university degree holders, and urban youth who turn to mining when formal employment does not materialize.
They play roles in gold buying, record keeping, logistics, equipment rental, and camp management. For them, galamsey is often a Plan B after job applications and internships fail to secure steady income.