Exploring the connections: Mining and urbanisation in Ghana

Studies of mining and urbanisation have been primarily conducted independently of one another, with limited consideration of the inter-linkages between the two. This analysis seeks to fill this gap by exploring the links between mining and urbanisation in a Ghanaian context. Ghana is an interesting case as it is both endowed with significant mineral wealth and is highly urbanised, with a long history of urban settlement compared to most of sub-Saharan Africa. Mining and urbanisation are examined in four historical phases: pre-colonial; colonial; independence to the early 1980s; and from the early 1980s onward, before exploring the growth trends and employment characteristics of the large-scale and small-scalemining sectors, following which different types of urban mining settlements are discussed. The article shows that the fortunes of mining and the growth of urban settlements are interconnected but concludes that the relationship between the two is not one of simple cause and effect. The complex nature of the linkages between mining and urbanisation means that they require more attention than they have been afforded hitherto.