With the government of Ghana actively cracking down on illegal mining (galamsey) activities, galamseyers are also finding creative and easier means of mining precious mineral and evading capture from authorities.
These new and creative means of galamseying inadvertently end up destroying our water bodies and degrading our forest reserves drastically.
One of such forms of galamsey destroying the nation’s water bodies is the ‘Tototo’ form of galamsey. Tototo is a form of mining which takes place on river bodies. With this form of mining, a rod is used to loosen the sand at the bottom of the river body. When the sand is loosened enough, a pump operated with a chanfan engine is then used to suck the sand from the river bed and channeled onto a board for washing.
After the sand sucked from the river bed is washed, the sand is deposited on a platform at the banks of the river. This platform which is referred to us a woolen or blanket traps the gold deposits for galamseyers to collect.
Though an unsophisticated form of galamsey, ‘Tototo’ destroys water bodies the most as it is only practiced on rivers, lakes, sea and any areas with water bodies.
Ghana is suffering a high level of water pollution as a results of galamsey activities, the country is now recorded water shortages predominantly in regions where galamsey activities are prominent, having a ripple effect on most parts of the country.
As galamsey activities is on the rise, Ghanaians may face the risk of importing water if a lasting solution to this menace is not found.
@galamsey_tv The tototo type of galamsey 😊#foryoupage #galamsey #galamseytv #galamseyvideo #gold #mininglife ♬ original sound – Galamsey TV
