Ghana gold rush sours

In October, a 16-year-old Chinese national Chen Long was killed and 101 Chinese miners detained during a two-day joint operation by Ghanaian police and immigration officials. They were investigating illegal gold mining by foreigners in the town of Manso, 60 km from Kumasi, the country's second-largest city. A few days later, the detainees were released.

Forty-one Chinese gold miners had already been detained in August and by the end of September 38 of them had been repatriated.

According to a conservative estimate, tens of thousands of Chinese gold miners have flooded into Ghana, the second-largest gold mining country in West Africa, since 2009. More than 90 percent of them came from Shanglin county in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The first group, numbering fewer than 10, arrived in June 2006.

In Ghana, locals are only allowed to open comparatively small mines, so many Chinese businessmen cooperated with landowners who held mining licenses. The Chinese paid an "entrance fee" and shared 10 percent of the daily gold production.

At first, the Chinese miners were warmly welcomed by local owners, because they brought comparatively advanced equipment, including excavators and pumping systems, which helped make the local industry more efficient.

The miners usually sign a three-year contract at a monthly salary of 5,000 yuan ($800), twice the salary at home.

"Clothing retailers, owners of logistics companies and other workers rushed to join the ranks of gold miners in Ghana, irrespective of whether or not they knew anything about the industry," according to an unnamed miner quoted in the Beijing News. "To them, Ghana is paved with gold everywhere."

As larger numbers of Chinese workers headed to Ghana to join the modern-day gold rush, violent incidents occurred, including aggravated robbery. In response, the local police suggested that the miners should "fight back".

Chen Long's death sparked a sense of insecurity among the miners and is regarded as the most serious misfortune to befall those who flocked to Ghana, said Su Zhenyu, general secretary of the NGO China Mining Association in Ghana, who was also quoted in the Beijing News' report.

The killing also reduced Chinese enthusiasm for working in Ghana and some, mainly those who have made a large investment in the country's mines, are now considering moving to other African countries, such as Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Gong Jianzhong, China's ambassador to Ghana, told China Daily that the embassy can't stop Chinese citizens going overseas to look for job opportunities. If tragedies such as Chen's occur, the first priority should be the safety of the miners.

Gong added that the Ghanaian government should legalize the small mining businesses to make them more manageable and asserted that many Chinese gold miners were the victims of illegal agencies that cheated them and confiscated their passports upon arrival, denying them a means of leaving the country.

Li Lianxing contributed to this story.