ACCRA, GHANA – Indigenous salt miners at the Songor Lagoon, one of sub-Saharan Africa’s premier salt-producing sites, are sounding the alarm over the dual threats of corporate monopolisation and climate instability. Covering over 41,000 acres, the lagoon is the lifeblood of Ada, yet local communities report that their traditional way of life is under siege.
Footage from the site reveals the gruelling reality of artisanal mining: workers scooping raw salt from wooden boats and carrying heavy buckets to be packed for transport. For the 70,000 people across 50 communities relying on this resource, the lagoon represents “everything.”
“The lagoon you are seeing here is our life,” explained Nene Mailo Dadebom Anim II, Chief of Toflokpo Village. “All that we do in Ada comes from this lagoon.”
While hundreds of thousands of tons could be produced each year, production remains relatively low at 250,000 tons. The dispute intensified in 2021 when the Ghanaian government leased the land to Electrochem under a 15-year contract. While officials assured that they would invest in the land and develop infrastructure, locals believed it was a way to restrict their access to their traditional mining grounds.
“About two or three years ago, we started having some problems,” said one of the local buyers. “They took away the areas we were mining. We cannot do it the way we were doing before.” Chief Anim II was also critical of the business model, saying there was no research into the nature of salt to enable large-scale, sustainable production.
In addition to economic factors, climate change introduces uncertainty about the future of Ghana’s “white gold.” Unexpected heavy rains often dissolve salt crystals, causing several days of work to be lost in a matter of minutes.
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