Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
The death of a Chinese gold miner in Ghana as well as the arrest of over 90 of his compatriots and colleagues has triggered a strong response from Beijing.
The Xinhua News Agency reports that the Chinese nationals were arrested by Ghanaian authorities during a crackdown on illegal gold mining by foreigners, and that one Chinese national was killed in the process.
China’s embassy to the Ghanaian capital of Accra confirmed the death of a 16-year old Chinese national on Sunday.
The Chinese government has since requested that the West African nation punish the perpetrators and provide compensation for the victims, as well as protect the interests and safety of Chinese nationals and prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
Illegal gold mining by Chinese nationals in Ghana has recently become a source of conflict and tension, with local farming communities concerned about the environmental degradation caused by the miners’ use of heavy machinery.
The activities of illegal Chinese miners in Ghana have reportedly led to armed clashes in recent months, while 38 Chinese nationals were deported from the country at the start of October for unlicensed gold mining.
The Globe and Mail reports that Richard Kofi Afenu, the sector policy and planning manager for Ghana’s Mineral Commission, imputes responsibility for the deadly incident to trigger-happy action on the part of the illegal miners.
Most of these Chinese illegal miners are heavily armed and shoot at anyone that gets near them. In this case, they opened fire when police tried to arrest them. It is not as though police wanted to shoot them.
4 Comments
wwann
can any Ghanaian operate in illegal mining in China. Then why in Ghana now. If they are to operate they should go by the law. Infact if they are ready to arm, then the youth will surely pick up ….
blindmind
another falsely accused of , another a conspiracy. too weak to know the truth
Richard Sage Essilfie
I ask, who can go to China and start galamsey business whiles armed to the teeth, it is only in Ghana that this nonsense can go on.
The chiness government should bow it head in shame for making such irresponsible and useless demand, i donot blame them, for our leader have woefully betrayed us and i pity those whose land have been used for these illegal activities. Most of our politicians are funded by these literate unskilled Chinese nationals who have our big men on their payrolls. Posterity will look sternly at our faces in the future and our siblings will call us irresponsible people.
when we go to them begging for huge loans, we compromise on the resources of our country, in this world there is nothing free
I am waiting for any politician who will have the moral dignity and will power to tell me that when voted into power will sweep away these parasites who have and are degrading our environs, polluting our water bodies while the government sit down and do anything,
I think we can hammer our message through civil disobedience to our leaders who are so corrupt and have allow these invasion. It is long overdue that we the indigens take our destiny into our hands and fight to the later and drive away these pests out our land. If not a time will come when we will not get any viable land to farm on, water to drink. The cocoa that fetches us foreign exchange are all been cut down for galamsey activities.
One worrying aspect is the draining of our foreign cash by these chinese people after their illegal operations, what ever they will accrue in terms of cash and gold is quickly shipped out of the country to Main land china to continue developing our country.
our leaders have a duty to protect it citizens, if these leaders have sold their consciences to money, our leaders should not think they are isolated from what is going on. Our elders say THE ANTELOPE WILL SUFFER SO WILL THE HUNTER God help us all.
Let us arise and save our country Ghana from these foreign invasion.
Nab
My answer to the Chinese government’s demand is that they should go to hell. They will never allow any foreigner to degrade their land the way they are doing in Ghana. If they will not allow why should the Ghanaians.