When the Mine Is Gone but the Danger Remains: The Silent Collapse beneath Us

Long after the last ounce of gold has been pulled from the earth, the ground continues to whisper the consequences.

Across Africa, from Ghana’s gold belts to Mali’s mineral-rich plains, abandoned gold mines left by both unregulated galamsey operations and even once-legal ventures, pose a growing threat. These aren’t just empty pits. They are time bombs beneath our communities.

Last year, a school in a mining town reported unusual ground movement near a football field. The cause? A collapsed underground shaft from an abandoned artisanal mine. No one knew it was there. And that is the danger: Out of sight does not mean out of risk.

Why Do Abandoned Mines Collapse?

When mining is done without long-term planning or proper closure, voids are left underground. Supporting pillars may become too thin. Roofs begin to sag. Rainwater begin to seeps in, weakening the soil and dissolving minerals.

Over time, the once-solid ground turns fragile. Then, one rainy season, one tremor, or even one unlucky step and the earth gives way.

Homes crackRoads buckle Lives are lost

And in most cases, there is no one left to take responsibility.

Galamsey and the Gold Rush of Guesswork

While galamsey is often painted as a criminal activity, it is also a symptom of systemic failure. Many young people turn to illegal mining because licensed concessions have been abandoned, yet still hold hope of hidden gold.

So therefore, these energetic youth dig without geological data, without maps, and without any safety protocol, often re-entering old shafts or creating new ones dangerously close to weak ground.

But galamsey is not the only culprit. Some formal mining companies, after years of operation, leave without investing in proper mine closure or rehabilitating tailings storage facilities.

The Tailings Problem: Not Just Waste, But a Warning

Tailings, the slurry of crushed rock, chemicals, and water left over after mineral extraction, are often stored in ponds or dams. When these are poorly managed or left behind after mining ends, they become environmental hazards.

Toxic metals leach into groundwater

Rivers are poisoned downstreamFlooding can trigger tailings dam failure, releasing sludge into nearby towns

Mine waste is not passive. Without management, it becomes an active threat.

What Can Be Done?

1. Mandatory Closure Plans

Mining licenses must include clear, enforceable closure and reclamation strategies, from stabilizing shafts to securing tailings facilities.

2. Post-Mining Monitoring

Even after the last rock is hauled away, there should be long-term geotechnical and environmental monitoring of old sites.

3. Community Involvement

The mining community members, chiefs and opinion leaders must be equipped to identify danger signs and should be engaged in mine legacy management. The land affects them first and most.

4. Stronger Investment in Tailings & Waste Infrastructure

Tailings should be treated not just as waste but as high-risk zones requiring robust containment and rehabilitation.

We cannot keep mining and be walking away

Africa is rich, not just in gold but in people, farms, rivers, and futures. If we want to extract value from the land, we must return value in the form of safety, sustainability, and long-term planning.

Whether it is galamsey or a multinational operation, abandoning a mine is not the end of the story, it is the beginning of a slow, dangerous decay.

Let us not wait for the ground to collapse before we act.

African Engineering Services advocates for responsible mining, sustainable tailings solutions, and exploration practices that protect not just extract. Because safety does not end when the gold runs out.

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