Chapter 1. Against ‘Paper’ Formalization in Ghana: Critical Reflections on ASM Informality and Alternative Legal Possibilities
Chapter 2. Decolonizing Methodologies in ASM Research
Chapter 3. Decolonial Legal Pluralism and Informal Miners’ Trajectories in ASM
Chapter 4. ‘Native’ Lands, State’s Gold: Mapping the History Of Monist-Pluralism in ASM in Ghana
Chapter 5. Navigating Colonial Legacies and the Living Customary Law in ASM Formalization in Ghana
Chapter 6. Reclaiming the Past: Chieftaincy, ASM and the Decolonial Reimagination of Indigenous Mineral Governance

Conclusion: Moving Forward: Deconstructing ASM Informality and the Living Customary Law in Ghana

References
Index

Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Formalization in Ghana

A Decolonial and Legal Pluralist Analysis

Linda Mensah

270 pages, 12 illus., bibliog., index

ISBN 978-1-83695-512-2 Hb Published (June 2026)

web ISBN 978-1-83695-514-6

Details

“ This book deploys an impressive body of secondary literature across several disciplines, including poetry and literary sources. The deft use of material from colonial era local newspapers is a fantastic addition to the history of archival and secondary sources.” • Dzodzi Tsikata, SOAS University of London

“This is a unique and imaginative project that should advance debates on resource governance and the formalization of artisanal mining.” • Roy Maconachie, University of Bath

The historical emergence of centralised mineral resource governance in Ghana can be tied to its failed colonially transplanted legal system. This book offers a sobering reflection of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) formalisation, with a focus on its complex operationalisation in formerly colonized societies. Through its thought-provoking analysis, engagement with the archives and emphasis on knowledge co-production, the study crucially examines how sustainability is engendered in indigenous, small-scale mining operations. Its reliance on decolonial legal pluralism and indigenous philosophy seeks to ignite meaningful conversations which are grounded in environmental responsibility, transparency and accountability in the administration of access to mineral rights.

Linda Mensah is Lecturer in Law and Director of the Environmental Law and Climate Justice Programme at the University of Stirling. Her research, publications and advocacy focus on environmental justice and governance in mining-affected communities, with her latest project examining domestic courts and their delivery of environmental rule of law in Ghana.