ISSN 2756-3383
Frontiers of Library, Information and Computer Sciences ISSN 5721-610X Vol. 1 (1), pp. 027-042, December, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
A study of pre-colonial and contemporary methods of gold mining in Ghana
David Amaldi
Department of History, University of Ghana, P.O. Box 12, Legon, Accra, Ghana. Email: [email protected].
Accepted 23 August, 2015
Abstract
The advent of colonialism and the introduction of modern scientific mining in Ghana during the last decade of the nineteenth century enabled European mining companies to gain control over the mining industry. This effectively excluded Africans from participating in the gold mining industry except as labourers and artisans. This article compares and contrasts the pre-colonial methods of mining with modern artisanal or small-scale mining popularly known in Ghana as galamsey and also provide reasons to explain why traditional or pre-colonial mining is still vibrant in the gold-rich Akanland in modern-day Ghana.
Key words: Auriferous, traditional mining, galamsey, scientific mining, Akyem Abuakwa, Adanse, Wassa