Social Impact Analysis of Mining Operations in Kenyasi and Surrounding Communities of Ghana: The Case of Newmont Gold Mining Company in Ghana

Abstract

This article discusses the findings of a study on mining and its social impacts on Kenyasi, a mining community in Ghana and other nearby communities especially Ntotroso and Atronie where mining activities are ongoing by mining giant Newmont Gold Mining Company. The study investigates the real and latent social impacts of mining activities on the communities in the light of the numerous promises and prospects that mining is said to provide for communities. The study employed qualitative methods of data collection of interviews, observation and focus group discussions. The study finds that from the prospecting stages through the construction of mining infrastructure and the actual mining itself, there are diverse social impacts on communities that can be very devastating on the communities where the mining takes place. These social impacts can to a larger extent, change the dynamics of community living and can make the lives of its residents better or worse. It is these impacts, real or imagined that this study unravels even though the social indicators assessed in this study are by no means exhaustive.

Keywords: Social impacts, Kenyasi community, mining activities, livelihood, Newmont Mining Company.