A video of some children believed to be between the ages of 8 and 10 years of age engaging in illegal mining popularly known as galamsey has sparked reactions on social media reigniting the debate about the menace in the country.

The video that was shared on X formerly Twitter shows about 8 children at a mining site loading sand into a machine close.

While some of the children were seen digging deep into the earth, one of them who seem to be the leader was seen loading the sand.

The little boy was overheard in the video saying that they have been mining for some time and have even acquired 50 karat of gold from the mining site.

“Why are you covering your face because he’s videoing us? Make sure you don’t fall into the pit. I’m the one shooting the load. we even get 50 karat of gold through galamsey,” one of the children was heard saying while they continued to dig.

Galamsey has become the topic of discussions recently after the Ghana Water Company Limited raised an alarm over their inability to supply Cape Coast, Elmina and other surrounding towns with water due to the mining activities at River Pra.

Reacting to the brouhaha on the galamsey activities, Professor Stephen Adei, the former Chairman of National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to declare a national emergency on illegal mining popularly known as ‘galamsey’.

According to him, this would give the President emergency powers to decisively deal with the menace, which he described as a “gargantuan environmental degradation” issue.

Prof Adei made this suggestion while speaking at the 25th anniversary lecture of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) in Accra on Wednesday.

In May 2023, the International Labour Organisation in its analytical studies on child labour in mining and quarrying in Ghana disclosed that younger children (10-14 years) are involved in working in galamsey pits and using dangerous chemicals.

It also revealed that working children are found in gold mining and quarrying in various parts of Ghana including Western, Ashanti, Eastern, Brong Ahafo, Northern and Upper East Regions in Ghana.