This article critically reflects upon the shortcomings of the ‘Prestea Action Plan', an ambitious initiative undertaken to facilitate the resettlement of artisanal miners operating in the Western Region of Ghana. The aim of the exercise was to identify viable areas for the thousands of...

This paper critiques the approach being taken in Ghana to implement Alternative Livelihood (AL) projects in mining communities. The rapid insurgence of illegal artisanal gold mining has forced policymakers to think more creatively about ways in which to deal with mounting unemployment in the...

This paper argues that artisanal mining communities are somewhat bound to their operations, and helps explain why formalisation, alternative livelihood projects and military intervention--the traditional strategies employed by governments to tackle illegal mining--have proved ineffective....