The government of Ghana will begin selling gold seized from illegal mining operations and use the proceeds to finance the restoration of degraded lands and polluted water bodies, Senior Presidential Advisor Joyce Bawah Mogtari has disclosed.
Speaking on Woezor TV on Sunday, April 20, Ms.
Bawah Mogtari said the initiative forms part of efforts by the Ghana Gold Board to sanitize the gold trade and ensure that gold obtained through unregulated mining activities does not enter the formal market. "The Gold Board is working to ensure that gold mined illegally is tracked and prevented from reaching legal trading platforms," she said, noting that a blockchain tracking system has been implemented to trace the source of all gold traded in the country.
She explained that proceeds from the sale of gold confiscated through this tracking system would go directly toward reclaiming lands and cleaning water bodies that have been devastated by illegal mining, known locally as galamsey. "We face serious environmental challenges - our rivers are polluted, and our forests are vanishing.
