Cooperating countries: Ghana, Austria

Coordinating institution: University of Salzburg

Project coordinator: Prof. Dr. Thomas Blaschke

Partner institution: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science Technology

Project duration: 01.09.2026-31.08.2028

Budget: 32.960,00 €

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is central to rural livelihoods and foreign-exchange earnings in Ghana, yet it is also associated with severe land degradation, water pollution and social risks. Despite the political prominence of “galamsey”, up-to-date, spatially explicit information on where ASM occurs, how it evolves, and which sites meet basic environmental and social safeguards remains fragmented. At the same time, new regulatory and market pressures – from EU due-diligence legislation to responsible-sourcing standards – demand auditable evidence on production conditions and supply-chain risks. This 24-month mobility project between the University of Salzburg (PLUS) and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) will co-develop and test a scalable workflow to map and characterise sustainable ASM (SASM) in Ghana using open Earth Observation (EO) data, geoAI methods and context layers (protected areas, settlements, hydrology, conflict/event data). Building on existing geospatial compliance research at PLUS and KNUST’s regional expertise in mining, remote sensing and social dimensions of ASM, the project combines joint field campaigns, co-supervised MSc/PhD work and reciprocal research visits. Technically, we will (i) adapt and benchmark recent EO/ML approaches for ASM detection and change analysis, (ii) fuse EO-based disturbance metrics with simple social–environmental indicators that approximate SASM practices, and (iii) prototype an open, web-based “SASM observatory” focusing on one or two Ghanaian hotspots. Scientifically, the project advances methods for linking local ASM realities with global due-diligence debates. In terms of development impact, it strengthens Ghanaian–Austrian research capacity, supports more informed ASM governance and contributes directly to SDGs 8, 12, 13, 15, 16 and 17 by providing reusable data, methods and human capacity for more sustainable mineral production.