Paper short abstract:

A new face of disputes amongst actors is presented by renewed interest in commercial mining in Ghana's Upper East Region. The local population is worried about their benefits and is posing concerns about their participation in decision-making and respect for their position of authority and power.

Paper long abstract:

In the Upper East Region, small-scale mining operations are widespread and have been extensively studied by scientists, particularly with regard to their effects on the local ecology, way of life, and disputes that arise from them. Large-scale commercial mining is currently developing in the area, and the infrastructure that goes along with it is dispersed over multiple settlements. Large-scale mining presents different patterns of conflict between local populations and multinational corporations than those of small-scale mining. Northern Ghana is unique with its own culture and traditional leadership structure, which has consequences for the governance of large-scale mining activities. This is in contrast to southern Ghana, where conflicts between multinational mining firms and local actors are the subject of extensive research. The study used multidisciplinary research methods and looked at the nature, causes, and effects of disputes amongst various stakeholders in the Upper East Region's gold mining industry, all while being guided by the environmental justice perspective. The research design, data collection, and analysis were conducted using a mixed research technique. The unequal distribution of mining advantages, the underappreciation of community rights, and the irregularities in the selection of stakeholders and their involvement in benefit-sharing decision-making are the emerging sources of the conflicts. Legislative and policy changes that prioritize the rights of communities and provide precise benefit-sharing plans for the local populace in Ghana's mining industry are necessary.