Premium Essay

Effects of Illegal Mining

In: Other Topics

Submitted By ceparghana
Words 9470
Pages 38
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1Background to the study
Mining is the extraction of minerals and precious metals from the earth. These minerals and metals consist of manganese, tantalum, copper, tin, silver, diamonds and gold. Mining may be considered in two forms: large scale mining and small scale mining.
Large scale mining generally employs large number of people and produces huge tonnes of gold. Examples of companies who engage in these are the Anglo-Gold Ashanti of Ghana, Newmont Ghana, Goldfields Ghana and Minas Serra Palade Mines in Brazil which employed about over thousands workers and yielded thousands tonnes of gold (Amankwah and Anim-Sackey, 2003).
Small scale mining is a form of mining that is done at small levels and mostly employs relatively a low number of people (Appiah, 1998). It is generally engaged in by local people within the area where these activities occur, and comes along with it the influx of people from other areas. Small Scale Mining companies use a considerable number of the labour force in the country. While there is no accurate SSM employment number for Ghana (Appiah, 1998), it is estimated that some 500,000 people are openly employed in the sector while additional 500,000 may indirectly be benefiting from the doings. About half of those directly engaged in the S.S.M are said to be illegal operators (Amankwah & Anim-Sackey, 2003) commonly known as “galamsey operators”. The actions of small-scale miners also generate economic linkages with other sectors of the economy helping as raw resources for goldsmiths and jewellers. There are two main forms of small scale mining; these are land dredging and river dredging. In the former, miners use generators to dig large holes in the ground to expose the gold bearing layer of the sand and clay. The slurry is then pumped into a sluice box which collects the gold particles (Gump, 2005). The

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Study Habits

...Francis P. Patlunag BSME- 3 ‘Illegal’ gold mining in Leyte, Philippines Monday, Jan 16, 2012 TACLOBAN CITY-The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in Eastern Visayas is investigating the reported illegal gold mining activities in Southern Leyte and in Eastern Samar. MGB Regional Director Roger De Dios said they have to look into these illegal mining activities as these could trigger landslides just like what happened in Compostela Valley province. De Dios said a report received by his office showed there were illegal gold mining activities in San Ricardo and Saint Bernard, both in Southern Leyte, and in Balangiga, Eastern Samar. Balangiga Mayor Viscuso De Lira said he had informed the MGB office about gold extraction in his town. De Lira, in a phone interview, said gold panning in his town were located in barangays (villages) Cag-olango and Guinmaayohan, both upstream villages. Cag-olango is about 9 kilometers away from the town center with more than 600 residents while Guinmaayohan has over 1,500 residents and is 12 km from the town proper. “I sought assistance from the MGB as to the best way to address this concern. I have yet to make a move like for a possible relocation of the people in these areas,” De Lira said. He said he could not just order the people there to relocate as it would also mean economic dislocation for them. Residents in these villages rely on farming as their main livelihood source but with a high price of gold at P1,800 per ounce, there is now...

Words: 914 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Texas

...Mining scam in India (colloquially Indian mining scam) is a series of widespread scams in various ore-rich states of India, and has generated controversy, which spans encroachment of forest areas, underpayment of government royalties, conflict with tribals regarding land-rights[citation needed]. The spill-over of the effects of legal mining into problems such as Naxalism and the distortion of Indian democracy by mixed political and mining interests, has gained international attention.[1][2] The latest scam that has come out is the Coal Mining Scam in which Government has had a presumable conservative loss Rs1.86 trillion (short scale), due to the delayed implementation of competitive bidding process for allotment of coal blocks, says the CAG. Illegal iron ore mining in Karnataka[edit] Rising global iron-ore prices driven by Chinese demand brought focus to the iron ore rich Bellary region of Karnataka. This iron ore is alleged to have been illegally mined after paying a minuscule royalty to the government. The major regularities involve mines in Bellary, including those of Obulapuram Mining Company owned byG. Karunakara Reddy and G. Janardhana Reddy who were ministers in the Government of Karnataka at the time.[3] Investigation by Income Tax Department[edit] Income tax sleuths unearthed under-invoicing and tax evasion of around Rs 86 crore by the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), run by Karnataka's Reddy brothers and also their trusted confidante and state health minister B...

Words: 553 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Blood Diamond Movie Review

...is sent to the forced labor camp to mine diamond. During that time, diamonds have really high value because they are traded for arms and is sold for a very high price. When Solomon is sifting sand on a river bank, he saw a 100 karat pink diamond which he initially hides then later buries. No less than a minute, it happened that there was government raid, he captured and he was sent in jail. There he meets Danny, who made deal with him. For diamond: Danny will help Solomon to find his family. To achieve this, Danny went to an American journalist Maddy Brown, whose price for aid is to tell how “dirty” diamonds are laundered to appear clean. In this story, there lies a question. To one, diamond matters, to another, it’s the exposure of the illegal diamond trade, but to the other, it’s the life of his family....

Words: 2192 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Time Value of Money

...December, 2010 Submitted bySId- 7636657 1 Executive Summary – MOE&F, INDIA rejected the application for Stage-2 (Final) Environmental Clearance and withdrew all the previous clearances for mining in Niyamgiri Hills given to Vedanta Alumina Ltd. (VAL) a subsidiary of Sterlite Industries INDIA Ltd. (SIIL) citing various facts and reasons. This report provides an in depth analysis of the factors that lead to the debacle of Vedanta Alumina Lanjigarh Project. In the collation and presentation of data Secondary sources have been largely used. Vedanta, being a big Corporate house with ample experience was well aware of the rules and legislations prescribed under the law but deliberately Indulged in malpractices and ignored the key issues when it came to the Implementation of the Robust Business Strategy as a part of unnecessary haste. This project is a complete failure as the main purpose of setting up of refinery at Lanjigarh was the mining from nearby Niyamgiri Hills which was rejected by MOE&F, INDIA. Main factors that contributed to the failure of Vedanta Project are primarily indulging in unethical and illegal practices to kick-off the project and ignoring the key stakeholders of the project i.e. Dongria Kondhs who are the inhabitants of the Niyamgiri Hills (Proposed mining Lease Area). The only ray of hope for Vedanta to make this project a success in terms of hindsight is to abide by the existing Rules and Legislation, satisfying Key stake holders and then pursue the...

Words: 4966 - Pages: 20

Free Essay

Google Case Analysis

...of the user’s search experience. Their position as the leading global internet database is further reinforced by their ability to produce results in various languages, and output localized search results. Furthermore, the fact that Google’s employees are required to spend 20% of their time developing their own projects acts as a perpetual catalyst to innovation--which always keeps the company one step ahead of their competitors. Weaknesses: Google relies primarily on advertisements as the source of their revenue. The problem with this is that advertisers’ spending patterns reflect the overall economic conditions. Deprived economic conditions may cause advertisers to reduce their investments in their ads, which would result in adverse effects on the revenue that Google is pulling from their advertisers. Google has also failed in establishing themselves as a podium for social media. The struggle that Google has had in implementing a successful social media platform also...

Words: 2093 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Mercury Pollution

...pregnant woman and her unborn fetus. Trauma caused to infants and children as a result of mercury exposure is exponentially worse than it would be an adult. In most cases, it causes severe nervous system problems. Exposure A EU study found that “between 1.5 and 2 million children in the EU are born each year with MeHg exposures above the safe limit of 0.58µg/g and 200,000 above the WHO recommended maximum of 2.5µg/g” (Sunderland). Exposure to MeHg in these amounts affects brain development. Stunted brain development leads to a lower IQ. A low IQ lessens one’s earning power. When just looking at the European Union, the consequences are of paramount importance. In the study, Prof Philippe Grandjean explained, "If we convert the effects of MeHg on developing brains into IQ points then the benefits of controlling MeHg pollution equates to 700,000 IQ points per year and monetary benefits of €8,000 to €9,000 million per year for the whole of the EU.” Where is the mercury pollution coming from? Excessive mercury exposure clearly has detrimental affects on society. It would be hard to completely eliminate the risk of exposure; however, there are certain practices can be eradicated to lower the levels of mercury in...

Words: 826 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Major Causes of Deforestation

...massive rate. One of the largest commodities the demand has increased for is Palm Oil. This need for Palm oil is so great that it not only has destroyed acres of rain forest but this need is starting to such a strong effect that people families are becoming displaced. 2. Cattle ranchers are becoming a large driving factor of deforestation. The growth in human society is booming. Because of the population of the world there is less and less land for cattle to graze from. The ranchers in Brazil are responsible for” 75% of deforestation in Brazil is linked to the cattle industry, with the cattle herd in the Amazon growing by 140% from 1990 to 2003” http://knowledge.allianz.com/environment/climate_change/?665/The-top-10-drivers-of-deforestation 3. Logging and Timber is becoming as affluent as the drug trade and other black market activities. 80% of the logging in the worlds Rain Forrest is illegal. Due to the large demand for logging many of the countries authorities are taking bribes and letting greed over rule the law. 4. Mining is becoming a major factor in deforestation particularly in developing countries and contents. All though mining isn’t as big of a factor as three logging, cattle ranching and increase in farm land it does still have some harmful effects. To mine there is the use of burning wood and coal. Both burning of wood and coal is very harmful to the forest and there is the increased release of CO2 emissions. 5. Growth and Population is the biggest factor...

Words: 399 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

World of Bitcoins

...WORLD OF BITCOINS ¬¬¬ CONTENTS Page(s) 1. Introduction 3 2. Features of Bitcoin 4-9 3. Bitcoin Mining 10-11 4. Legality of Bitcoins in different countries 12-13 5. Pros and Cons of Recent Developments of Bitcoin 14-15 6. Legal Aspects of Bitcoin in India 16-19 7. Conclusion 20 8. References 21-23 INTRODUCTION We live in a world where transactions are made by traditional methods using separate currencies. This system has been implemented since the dawn of time. But for a more modern approach, a new form of currency called as crypto currency have been introduced by various organizations around the world. The first crypto currency to be introduced is the Bitcoin. Bitcoin is the creation of a computer programmer named using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto that made its debut in January 2009. This is an open source, peer- to-peer, digital currency that has no physical manifestations. Unlike earlier digital currencies that had some central controlling person or entity, the USP of Bitcoin lies in its network being completely decentralized, with all parts of transactions performed by the users of the system. This is similar to the U.S. dollar so, Bitcoin is a fiat currency in that it is not redeemable for some amount of another commodity i.e. Bitcoin in itself...

Words: 4953 - Pages: 20

Premium Essay

Blood Diamonds

...This paper depicts the adverse effect of diamonds on the people of Africa. It also addresses the real price of diamonds which it believes to be the lives of millions of Africans. Additionally, it examines the response from the United Nations and question if enough is being done to crack done on the sale of blood diamonds.   The famous phrase “Diamonds are Forever” is known to most people all over the world. What most people do not know is where most of these diamonds are coming from and how they came to become perfect gestures of love and romance. Looking at a clear cut diamond ring, it is hard to imagine the possibility of thousands of innocent people being murdered, tortured, and forced to mine for these stones; unfortunately that is the case in Africa. Diamonds in West Africa have been used for the last 30 years to fund rebel groups and their desire to take control of their nations by violence and intimidation. In such conflicted regions of the world, diamonds lose their connotation of beauty and elegance and are stained with blood. In this paper, I will discuss the many ways in which “conflict diamond” has brought nothing but poverty, suffering and war to the West African people. I will further explain what world organizations such as the United Nation have done in order to counteract the adverse effects of the conflict diamond on the African community, and the extent to which such efforts have been successful. Conflict diamonds are diamonds illegally traded...

Words: 1693 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Child Labor

...the Philippines and one of the most rampant problems we face. In the endeavour to create an awareness of an already existing law is evidently not properly implemented, child labour falls within this category. Every child has the right to the most basic of necessities in life like a healthy environment, formal education, and most importantly, a loving family to come home to. Yet poverty hinders the child to any of these things and forces labour in farming fields, mining shafts and peddling in the busy and dangerous streets of the country. I would want to focus on the most disturbing problem here in the Philippines – Child Labour. Child labour refers to the illegal employment of children below 18 years old in hazardous occupations. Underage children are being forced to manual labour to help their families due to poverty. As researched, about 2.4 million children all around the Philippines are compelled to do labour, such as in crop plantations, mining caves, rock quarries and factories. Child labour has many ill effects in children who are supposed to be in the environment of a classroom rather than roaming the streets and risking every chance and time just to earn enough money. It is appalling knowing that there are a lot of children experiencing such heavy problem. Parents, indeed, have the responsibility of educating their children. It is their main duty to send their children to school. But it is dismaying to realize that because of scarcity, parents tend to become unconcerned...

Words: 357 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Most Influential Person

...here has either seen or heard of the show Moonshiners off the Discovery channel? In the show these moonshiners refer to what they do as part of their “heritage and culture.” I being a big fanatic of the show have decided to research this “heritage.” It turns out, the people in the show were right. Moonshining is a very vast and unique culture that’s roots date back to the early 1800’s. Moonshiners have their own region, lifestyle, and mark on history. BODY I. The moonshining culture and practice all started and remains in the Appalachian Region of the United States. A. There are some reasons behind the choosing of this location. 1. For one, it is a region that is mostly rural and covered by woodlands. a. Because the practice is illegal. The trees and low population gives moonshiners the advantage of being undetected by people and the law. 2. Along with the advantage of being discrete. This land is also perfect for making moonshine. a. First off, the ingredients to making moonshine can be grown naturally within the land. 1. These ingredients include corn meal, yeast, water, malt, and sugar b. The second advantage to the landscape is the vast amount of flowing rivers found within the region. 1. These flowing rivers are necessary in order to both cool down and run through the stills. II. Moonshiners also have a very unique lifestyle. A. They are strong believers in their values. 1. They are a very hard working and tough kind of people. 2. They strongly...

Words: 675 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Deforestation

...converted into farmland. Commercial agriculture such as: Palm oil and acacia trees, cattle ranching, soybeans, etc. Urbanization - Industries and towns are developing in former rainforest. Hydroelectric power - Rivers are dammed and huge areas of forest are flooded as a result. Transport - Transport networks are built through the forest to link settlements. Industries - Forest are cleared to support industrial activities and extraction of resource, Two main types are: Logging for timber and mining for minerals. Forest Fires - Fire is often used to clear forested land, as it is cheaper than employing laborers and bringing in machinery to remove the trees and vegetation. The vegetation is cleared and left to dry out, then the area is set on fire. Burning of forest has taken place on a small scale for many thousands of years, by small groups of subsistence farmers, this is known as slash and burn agriculture. Mining - Large areas of forest are cleared for the open-cast mining of minerals such as iron, gold and copper. Roads - Road shave been built through rain forest to enable minerals, timber, cattle and crops to be moved easily. Roads also bring in new settlers who clear areas for farming. Logging - Only valuable trees are chopped down (Celtic logging) but as they fall, they damage other trees. Even more damage is caused by ‘clear felling’ where other trees are also chopped down and chipped for pulp. Lands for peasants...

Words: 2193 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Blood Diamond

...of the films Blood Diamond and Lord of War, the illegal act of trading arms for diamonds seems like business as usual. It’s not until you look at, where the diamonds come from, how they are mined and who controls/owns the gems, that you begin to understand why these precious stones are called “Blood Diamonds”. Most diamonds on the market come from expensive mining operations run by large corporations, who drill into large bodies of volcanic rock containing diamond deposits, known as kimberlites. Sources like these are not easily accessible to anyone and in the case of Africa, “conflict diamonds come primarily from places where rivers have washed over kimberlites and spread their wealth down river in thick deposits of mud and gravel”. (stemming the flow) In west Africa, there are many well known regions which contain some of the world’s largest diamond deposits. INTRODUCTION The link between diamonds and armed conflict in Sierra Leone is obvious, and has been exposed, investigated, and deplored by humanitarians, journalists, politicians, and diamond industry leaders. Less obvious are the complex, entrenched relationships between exploitative systems of financial intermediation and resource management, poverty, and the spectacular, mysterious wealth of the diamond trade. Diamonds have facilitated, not caused, and armed conflict. Pre-war economic and social injustice, which developed during the war into the illegal, and finally criminal, behavior common of the diamond...

Words: 436 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Environmental Challenges in Northern Nigeria: the Way Forward

...ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES IN NORTHERN NIGERIA: THE WAY FORWARD A position paper submitted to Northern Delegates at the National Conference Abuja By Yusuf Abdullahi Rigasa (PhD) yusuf.rigasa@gmail.com An Associate Chief Lecturer at the Department of Environmental Science Kaduna Polytechnic, currently on secondment to National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, Federal Ministry of Environment Abuja. 2014 Introduction Northern Nigeria was a British protectorate which lasted from 1900 until 1914 and covered the northern part of what is now Nigeria. The protectorate spanned 255,000 miles (410,000 km) and included the states of the Sokoto Caliphate and the Kano emirate and parts of the former Bornu Empire, conquered in 1902. The protectorate was ended in 1914, when it was unified with Southern Nigerian Protectorate and Lagos Colony, to become Northern Province of the colony and protectorate of Nigeria or the Northern region. The Northern Region was one of Nigeria's federating units. It was created before independence in 1960, with its capital at Kaduna. In 1962, it acquired the territory of the British Northern Cameroons, who voted to become part of Nigeria. In 1967 the region was split into states - Benue-Plateau State, Kano State, Kwara State, North-Central State, North-Eastern State and North-Western State. Currently, the region comprises of 19 states and Federal Capital Territory Abuja. The climatic conditions in the northern part of Nigeria exhibit...

Words: 4420 - Pages: 18

Premium Essay

Corruption

...Corruption is efforts to secure wealth or power through illegal means for private gain at public expense; or a misuse of public power for privat e benefit. Corruption like cockroaches has co- existed with human society for a long time and remains as one of the problems in many of the world’s developing economies with devastating consequences. Corruption as a phenomenon, is a global problem, and exists in varying degrees in different countries (Agbu, 2001). Corruption is not only found in democratic and dictatorial politic s, but also in feudal, capitalist and socialist economies. Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist cultures are equally be deviled by corruption Corruption in India From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Political corruption | Concepts | * Bribery * Cronyism * Kleptocracy * Economics of corruption * Electoral fraud * Nepotism * Slush fund * Plutocracy * Political scandal | Corruption by country | | Europe | * Albania * Armenia * Belgium * Bosnia * Denmark * Finland * France * Germany * Croatia * Cyprus * Czech Republic * Georgia * Greece * Iceland * Ireland * Italy * Kosovo * Latvia * Lithuania * Luxembourg * Macedonia * Moldova * Montenegro * Netherlands * Poland * Portugal * Romania * Serbia * Slovakia * Slovenia * Spain * Sweden * Switzerland * Ukraine | Asia | * Afghanistan * Bahrain * Bangladesh * Cambodia * China...

Words: 8076 - Pages: 33