Formalization of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana: Why Has It Failed?

Abstract:

Despite decades of governmental interventions, the formalization of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASM) in Ghana has largely failed. This paper examines the structural, institutional, and policy factors that hinder formalization, drawing on a critical analysis of scholarly literature, government reports, and policy analyses. Key barriers include high licensing costs, restricted access to mineralized land, bureaucratic centralization, enforcement bias, and miners' livelihood dependency. Policy accounts that frame informality as illegality or environmental irresponsibility further depoliticize structural drivers, legitimizing punitive approaches while overlooking progressive solutions. Institutional fragmentation and limited capacity at national and local levels exacerbate administrative delays, misalign regulatory frameworks with local realities, and weaken trust between miners and authorities. This study demonstrates the persistence of path dependency and policy inertia, showing how repeated reform cycles reproduce informality rather than reduce it. Evidence shows that effective formalization requires livelihood-sensitive, decentralized, and community-based governance strategies that integrate technical support, land access reform, and economic alternatives to ASM. This paper adds to debates on sustainable mining policy in sub-Saharan Africa by providing a comprehensive framework for understanding the continuing gap between ASM formalization objectives and practice.