Gold Small Scale Mining In Ghana

Small-Scale mining is an essentially artisanal or small industrial form of raw material extraction. In Ghana, small-scale mining constitutes a major source of employment especially for gold and diamonds, and contribute some foreign exchange for Ghana.
Apart from gold and diamonds, other small-scale activities serving for employment for a lot of people are salt, kaolin, silica, sand, brown clay, aggregates and crushed rocks, etc.

Gold and diamonds are the most importantminerals mined on a small scale in Ghana. In gold minig operators are awarded licences by government to mine in a designated are not exceeding 25 acres for 3-5 years. A licenced operator employes between 5 and 20 groups of tributers consisting of 5 to 10 workers each that excavate ore and process gold.
The arrangements is that the tributers keep two-thirds of the profits, and the remaining third is given to the concessionaire. Small scale miners use basic hand tools such as picks axe, sleuice boxes and shovels, although acassionally Honda water pumps, explosives and washing plants are seen within regions.
The most organized of set ups have separate stations or locations for performing gold production processing activities. Fisrt, ore is crushed into pebbles by hand or machine and is contained in storage sacks in sheds.
The pebbles undergo primary, secondary and tertiary grinding in prepration for washing carried to the riverside in cloth bags, the finely crushed sediments is laid along washing, blankets or is hand washed along riverbanks to separate valuable gold particles.
The sediments is then panned using mercury, and the resulting amalgam is roasted over charcoal fire in the open air.



contact:

Mr Reg Ofori
CEO
Waterhousegold Ltd
P.O Box CT 4588
Cantonments, Accra
www.waterhousegold.com
waterhousegold@yahoo.com