Nigeria, Dec. 14 -- Ghana's northern gold-mining belt faces growing exposure to extremist operations, new research has shown.

The study, published by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, a Geneva-based non-profit organisation, showed that the informal nature of artisanal and small-scale gold mining, porous borders with Burkina Faso, and opaque financial flows create conditions that could be exploited by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), the Sahel's most powerful extremist group.

The study is titled "Violent extremist threats to northern Ghana's gold sector," and was published on 3 December.

According to the study, gold mining in Ghana has been largely informal. Unlicensed gold mining is prevalent across...