Sixteen Chinese and some 13 Ghanaians have been arrested in a forest reserve at the Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region in a special operation to tackle illegal mining.
The Excavator Evacuation Team of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, on Thursday, carried out the special operation at 15 locations in the district in the heart of the Krobo Forest.
Led by WO1 Odei Nyarko, the taskforce seized 30 excavators, four pick-ups, two caterpillars, 14 pump-action guns, one M16 gun, 200 live cartridges, five cutlasses and cash of GH¢45,000 during the raid.
The taskforce, which was alerted to the illegal mining operation about five days ago, also destroyed some chanfan machines that were being used by the illegal miners, popularly known as ‘galamsey’ operators.
Spokesperson of the taskforce, Twum Agyekum, said the suspects had been handed over to the Obuasi Police to carry out further investigations that will lead to their prosecution.
According to him, since the clampdown on the activities of ‘galamsey’ operators and ban on all forms of small-scale mining activities was issued, some illegal miners have been operating at night to avoid detection.
Illegal gold mining in the forest has left behind huge dugouts and a degraded forest, while chemicals like Mercury, which is used to sieve the mud to isolate the gold, are also draining into the nearby rivers.
Government, in April last year, placed a ban on illegal gold mining in the country to stop environmental damage and pollution of water bodies.
Currently, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, is planning to roll out a Multi-Sectoral Mining Integrated Project (MMIP) ahead of the lifting of the ban.
The project, which is intended to, among others, regulate and assist Artisanal and Small-scale Miners (ASMs) to improve the efficiency of their operations, hinges on three main pillars- statutory enforcement, social interventions and technological adaptations.
Source: Daily Guide
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
THOSE GHANAIANS INVOLVED WITH THESE OPERATIONS ARE DISGRACE TO GHANA AS A COUNTRY, WHY CAN YOU GO TO CHINESE TO DO THIS IN THERE. IN CHINA BY NOW ALL THESE MEN HAD BEEN KILLED ALREADY. WHY THEY CANT HEAR FOR ONCE.
This time no need to burn their heavy equipment. All must be given to Ghana Highways Authority to add to their fleet... Ghana will work again..
Why don't you shoot and kill these nation and environmental wreckers. Both the Chinese and Ghanaians included. These low lives would dare not pollute the yangtze or yellow rivers in China or any forests especially when there is a ban because the punishment will be death by firing squad. Yet they travel to Ghana and with impunity and with support from very f0000lish self1sh locals mess our natural resources. kill all the muddafu**kER$.
The ban must remain in place forever and Donald Enstuah who it was initially reported owns the concession granted to him by the Minerals Commission, migrated to large scale farming where he will mine during the day or night with illumination in a structured setting, so everybody can see him, instead of destroying the forest in the night with his workers and the proliferation of light weapons and insecurity. After centuries of this so-called small scale mining at the expense of large scale, it's time for us to migrate them to large scale mining so we protect our rivers and water bodies, rich flora and fauna for generations to come.