Socio-Economic Impact Of Mining In Ghana : A Review of Newmont Activities in Birim North District

Ghana is Africa's 2nd most important producer of Gold after South Africa. Gold mining is one of Ghana's main sources of revenue and foreign exchange. In 1998, gold exports totalled $793 million which was 46 percent of gross foreign exchange earnings. Yet all these have not benefited the Ghanaian economy and people as a result of the adverse effects mining activities present to the communities in which they operate as well as other nearby settlements in terms of the destruction of the biodiversity, air and water pollution, land degradation and loss of vegetation cover rendering many jobless and several others vulnerable to diverse health challenges. This, as a result, disintegrates the socio-cultural cohesion in the communities concern summing up to worsen the economic crises of the country.After rigorous assessment and analysis of the field research it was evident that NGGL has contributed significantly to the development of the District through the construction of schools, boreholes, police stations, etc but leaves in its trail challenges concerning the political-social-cultural nexus in the proposed mining communities.