Citing data from the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI), Marvey said ArcelorMittal Liberia generated US$1.21bn between 2009 and 2022, yet the government received only US$138m, about 11% of total earnings. He added that unprocessed iron ore continues to be shipped out of the country and that gold and diamonds uncovered during operations are often exported without proper reporting.

“Foreign companies are eating Liberia alive,” he said. “It is the responsibility of lawyers to help close loopholes that allow this exploitation to continue,” Daily Observer quotes.

Marvey pointed to Yekepa, once envisioned as a model mining community, as evidence of the sector’s failures. Despite more than 20 years of operations, the town remains largely abandoned, housing blocks have collapsed, water systems no longer function, and key infrastructure, including parts of the Mount Tokadeh rail line, is deteriorating. 

Meanwhile, ArcelorMittal is reported to have increased production, using longer, heavier trains, raising concerns that government losses may be rising, not falling.

Marvey said Liberia’s legal framework allows multinational companies wide latitude. Concession agreements often lack enforcement mechanisms, and agencies tasked with monitoring mining operations remain under-resourced.

He also described the emerging carbon credit sector as “poorly regulated.” Liberia has no dedicated law governing carbon trading, and only 10% of carbon revenue is required to be paid into state coffers.

Marvey urged the legal community to take a more active role in safeguarding Liberia’s resources, saying the country needs stronger laws, tighter oversight and more consistent enforcement.

Despite these strides, the campaign seems to have yielded little as environmental destruction worsens. Illegal miners now dig in the open with no fear of authority.

To counter this menace, President John Dramani Mahama's government has also put in motion an intense war by instituting the Goldbod, a body which is now in charge of everything gold and other precious minerals.

The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources is also not sitting back and has equally rolled out a mining skills programme dubbed the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP), to promote ethical mining.

On the journey to the outdooring of this initiative in Obuasi, in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, eight precious souls lost their lives.

These eight, including the Minister of Defence, Edward Omane Boamah and the Minister of Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, were killed in a military helicopter crash on August 6.

Major destruction from galamsey so far

Although illegal mining contributes over one-third of Ghana’s gold production, it costs the state approximately $2 billion annually in lost tax revenue.

Up to 60% of Ghana’s surface water sources, including key rivers like the Ankobra and Pra, are contaminated with hazardous levels of mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals.

Additionally, polluted water has impaired the Ghana Water Company’s capacity by up to 75%, leading to possible reliance on expensive water imports by 2030.

More than 4,726 hectares of forest and riverine areas have been destroyed, affecting 34 out of Ghana’s 288 forest reserves. Over 190,000 acres of cocoa farmland have been lost, either seized by miners or degraded through encroachment.

Current reforms

President John Dramani Mahama, in April 2025, established the Ghana Gold Board (Goldbod) to regulate and check mining in the country.

Under the Goldbod Act, the body is the only powerful, centralised body mandated to oversee the entire gold value chain from licensing and assaying to buying, refining, and exporting gold. GoldBod replaces prior fragmentation to bring structure and control to the sector.

Under the reform, foreigners are barred from directly trading or purchasing gold domestically, and all gold trade must be conducted through GoldBod, in the Ghanaian cedi. This move aims to retain value within national channels and strengthen oversight

Additionally, the Act empowers GoldBod with enhanced monitoring, surveillance, increased penalties, and the establishment of specialised task forces to clamp down on illegal mining and gold smuggling. It also enforces stricter border controls and customs procedures.