About
Protecting Ghana from Space
SpotGalamsey is an AI-powered environmental monitoring platform that uses satellite imagery to detect, track, and report illegal mining activity across Ghana.
Our Mission
Illegal mining — galamsey — is an environmental crisis threatening Ghana's water, land, and public health. Despite government enforcement efforts, the scale and speed of destruction has outpaced traditional monitoring methods.
SpotGalamsey was created to bridge this gap. By leveraging satellite imagery and machine learning, we can detect new mining sites within days of their appearance, monitor the expansion of existing operations, and provide the NAIMOS Taskforce with precise, actionable intelligence for enforcement.
Our goal is not just detection — it is accountability. Every hectare of destroyed forest, every polluted river, every community at risk is documented and tracked.
River pollution from illegal mining operations in Ghana
Detection
Multi-spectral satellite analysis identifies land disturbance patterns characteristic of illegal mining operations.
Monitoring
Continuous temporal analysis tracks site expansion, seasonal patterns, and enforcement effectiveness.
Reporting
Automated intelligence reports are generated and forwarded to the NAIMOS Taskforce for investigation and action.
Methodology
How We Detect Illegal Mining
Our detection pipeline combines multiple data sources and analysis techniques for reliable, actionable results.
Satellite Data Sources
- Sentinel-2 (10m resolution, 5-day revisit)
- Landsat 8/9 (30m resolution, 16-day revisit)
- 4+ commercial high-resolution satellites
Analysis Techniques
- Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) change detection
- Spectral unmixing for bare soil identification
- Water turbidity analysis using reflectance bands
- Temporal anomaly detection for rapid land use change
- etc.
Machine Learning Pipeline
- Training on confirmed galamsey sites across all severity levels
- False positive reduction through multi-temporal confirmation
- Severity classification based on area, proximity to water, and expansion rate
- Continuous model improvement with enforcement feedback
Verification
- Cross-reference with legal mining permits database
- Drone surveillance for ground-truth verification
- Community reports corroboration
Collaborators
Our Partners
SpotGalamsey operates in partnership with government agencies, technology providers, and industry partners.
NAIMOS Taskforce
Government Enforcement
The National Alternative and Innovative Mining Operations Secretariat receives our intelligence reports and coordinates enforcement operations at detected sites.
Amazon
Cloud Credits Sponsor
Amazon Web Services provides cloud computing credits that power our satellite imagery processing and machine learning infrastructure.
Terra Industries
Drone Surveillance
Terra Industries has provided two surveillance drones for on-ground verification of satellite-detected sites, enabling higher confidence assessments.
Get in Touch
For partnerships, media inquiries, or technical questions about our detection methodology, reach out to our team.
contact@spotgalamsey.org