The fight against illegal mining, or galamsey, has resulted in the confiscation of 135 excavators and close to 200 weapons, according to President John Dramani Mahama.
More than 8,200 objects, including excavators, changfan machines, and other tools used in illegal mining, had also been confiscated, according to him.
On Monday, October 19, President Mahama spoke at the Mining in Motion Conference and stated that the operation has seen progress, especially in removing unauthorized miners from forest reserves that had been designated as red zones due to the risk that armed miners pose to security.
“We have had some success in our fight against illegal mining. Over 8,200 items have been confiscated. This includes changfan equipment, excavators, and other illegal mining tools,” he added.
“We have seized 135 excavators that were being used in unlawful mining, and we have recovered about 200 firearms that were owned by the persons involved in unlawful mining,” he said.
President Mahama said illegal miners had encroached on 48 of Ghana’s 288 forest reserves, with some areas designated as red zones because forest rangers couldn’t safely enter them.
According to him, the government had removed illegal miners from nine red zones and was getting the affected forest reserves ready for recovery.
He added, “I’m glad to inform that all nine of these red zones have been cleared of illegal miners, and we are currently getting those forest reserves ready for reclamation.”
The President said that illegal mining had damaged about 12,000 acres of land nationwide and that measures were being made to recover deteriorated regions.
Mining company Newmont was recognized for its reclamation efforts on land that had been mined, where crops had been planted.
President Mahama also commended the Ghana Gold Board for granting the Ghana Armed Forces a contract to restore 253 acres of land in the Tano Nimri Forest that had been damaged by illegal mining.
“That work is still in progress,” he stated.
He also said that the reclamation of 5,000 acres of damaged land would begin next year and that GH¢200 million had been set aside for this purpose.
The Finance and Lands Ministers received the President’s appreciation for their help in the restoration initiative.
President Mahama said that 6,060 excavators had been registered and stored in the ports, while 2,059 had been equipped with tracking devices, in reference to measures to monitor excavators and stop their misuse.
He stated that the monitoring equipment would assist authorities in determining where the excavators were being utilized as part of efforts to improve enforcement and monitoring against illegal mining.
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