The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has moved to quell growing public controversy over its approach to illegal mining, insisting that the formalisation of galamsey operators does not amount to a blanket amnesty and is instead a structured pathway to bring eligible miners into a regulated legal framework.
The clarification follows widespread criticism triggered by a viral social media video featuring GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi, in which he appeared to suggest that miners could be permitted to operate provided their activities were not conducted in or near water bodies, forest reserves, or roadsides .
Video Was ‘Selectively Edited’
GoldBod has since rejected the characterization of Mr. Gyamfi’s remarks, describing the circulating video as selectively edited and misleading. In a statement issued by the Board, it explained that the footage was extracted from an engagement with artisanal and small-scale miners in March 2026, and that the version being shared omitted critical context regarding the government’s policy objective of identifying, documenting, and transitioning eligible informal operators into a lawful and environmentally responsible mining regime .
“Government’s policy is not to legitimize illegal mining. It is to end illegality by transitioning eligible operators into a formal system where they can be licensed, regulated, monitored and held accountable for their environmental and operational conduct,” the statement read .
‘Formalisation Is Not Amnesty’
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue, GoldBod’s Public Relations Officer and Head of Communications, Prince Kwame Minkah, reinforced the Board’s position, stressing that the CEO has not endorsed galamsey.
“CEO has not endorsed small scale mining which is known in our parlance as galamsey. It is an illegality; all that he was seeking to put out there is a creative means in which we can draw them from that illegal space into a regulated eco space,” Mr. Minkah said .
He emphasized that formalisation would require eligible operators to comply with a rigorous set of legal requirements, including licensing, environmental safeguards, training, and ongoing regulatory oversight.
“Formalisation is not a blanket amnesty for illegal mining; it is a structured process for bringing eligible operators into the law, subject to licensing, environmental safeguards, training and regulatory oversight. That is what my CEO was seeking to put out,” he stated .
LBMA Certification at Stake
Mr. Minkah further argued that GoldBod would never risk its pursuit of London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) certification by endorsing illegal mining. He noted that responsible sourcing—requiring gold to come from safe, legal sources that do not cause environmental destruction—is a prerequisite for LBMA certification, making any endorsement of galamsey fundamentally incompatible with the Board’s institutional ambitions .
Strict Red Lines Remain
In his own clarification posted on social media, Mr. Gyamfi maintained that three categories of mining remain “irredeemably wrong and can neither be tolerated nor reformed”: mining that impacts water bodies, mining within forest reserves, and mining in prohibited community locations such as roadsides, school lands, and residential areas .
He explained that once artisanal and small-scale miners operate outside these protected zones, their mineralized areas—even if currently unlicensed—meet the eligibility requirement for formalisation under the government’s Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme .
Broader Reform Agenda
The controversy unfolds against the backdrop of GoldBod’s broader reform agenda. The Board, established under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), has been mandated to oversee and regulate the buying, selling, assaying, refining, and exporting of gold, while promoting the formalisation of small-scale mining through supply chain sustainability .
GoldBod is preparing to roll out its Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) Formalisation and Financing Support Programme (FFSP) in 2027, developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the University of Mines and Technology, and the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), with technical support from Rand Refinery SA . The programme aims to provide financial and technical assistance to eligible miners, boost mineral production and revenue, create jobs, and mitigate environmental damage .
The Board has also announced partnerships with the Ghana Geological Survey Authority to conduct geological investigations in Funsi (Upper West Region) and Benesere (Ashanti Region) to identify mineralized zones and discourage speculative “lottery mining” . Additionally, GoldBod is financing the restoration of 50 hectares of degraded land in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve and supporting the rehabilitation of water treatment plants affected by illegal mining .
Political Heat
The matter has drawn political attention, with Dr. Ekua Amoakoh, spokesperson for NPP flagbearer Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, accusing the NDC of hypocrisy over the issue. Speaking on the same Channel One TV programme, she argued that the NDC had previously condemned the NPP over galamsey and rejected calls to regulate small-scale mining, but was now defending a similar approach .
“If it was bad, then why is it good now?” she asked, challenging the NDC to explain its position .
GoldBod maintains that its focus remains on ending illegality through structured formalisation rather than blanket enforcement alone, insisting that bringing eligible operators into the legal fold is the most practical path toward environmental protection and economic growth.
