Towards Responsible Mining in Africa: Problematising the Environmental and Public Health Concerns of Artisanal and Small‐Scale Gold Mining in Ghana

ABSTRACT There have been emerging media reports on the impact of cyanide and mercury use in artisanal and small‐scale gold mining (ASGM) operations on community health, especially among pregnant and non‐pregnant women, ASGM miners, and children in rural Africa. This paper gathers data from multiple sources, including media reports and qualitative research interviews, to critically examine and question the emerging environmental and public health concerns of ASGM operations in rural Africa, using Ghana, a country that has experienced a surge in illegal/informal mining activities over the past two decades, as a case study. Our findings revealed multifaceted and interrelated factors comprising (i) community exposure to heavy metals and disease contraction, (ii) congenital disabilities and pregnant women's exposure to toxic chemicals from ASGM operations, (iii) miners' exposure, disease burden and ill health, (iv) water‐related diseases, and (v) heavy metal bioaccumulation in food chains and associated with public health risks, as the growing environmental and public health risks and concerns of ASGM operations in Ghana. Based on these findings, we suggest a multidisciplinary socio‐ecological policy approach to mitigate the environmental risks and health concerns associated with ASGM operations in Ghana and, more broadly, across Africa. In this context, an integrated One Health approach that focuses on ASGM regulations, environmental management, occupational health and safety, public health, stakeholder engagement and community participation can be considered a suitable multidisciplinary socio‐ecological policy response. The policy and practical implications of our findings are discussed in the paper.