The government has renewed its warning to illegal miners operating in Ghana’s forest reserves, stressing that anyone found engaging in unauthorised mining activities will face sanctions.
The Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Benito Owusu-Bio, said the Ministry remains committed to protecting the country’s forest reserves and will continue to remove illegal miners from protected areas.
Get more exclusive breaking news updates on our WhatsApp channel .
He explained that mining activities are prohibited in forest reserves unless companies have been granted legal authorisation by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.
According to him, only licensed operators such as Chirano Mines and Newmont Ghana have been permitted to undertake mining in designated forest reserve areas.
Mr Owusu-Bio issued the warning during a working visit to the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve in the Amenfi West Municipality of the Western Region to assess reports that Akonta Mining Limited was still operating within the reserve.
During an aerial inspection of the forest, the Deputy Minister identified three abandoned mining sites containing equipment but with no active operations. He directed officials of the Forestry Commission to destroy and decommission the equipment.
The inspection team also discovered another group of illegal miners operating along the banks of a nearby river. Preliminary assessments indicated that about 98 per cent of the miners were working outside the forest reserve, while the remaining two per cent were operating within the protected area.
Authorities said they could not immediately establish which company the miners were associated with.
Mr Owusu-Bio assured that the Ministry would investigate the activities and take steps to halt all illegal mining operations in and around the reserve.
He announced that the Forestry Commission, with support from timber company Samartex and the Ghana Armed Forces, would increase patrols within the 300-square-kilometre forest reserve to prevent further encroachment.
The Deputy Minister also disclosed that similar enforcement exercises would soon be carried out across forest reserves nationwide as part of efforts to eliminate illegal mining.
He appealed to traditional leaders and residents of the Amenfi West Municipality to support the government’s campaign against illegal mining by reporting unlawful activities in protected areas.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, John Allotey, said illegal mining had degraded approximately 0.12 square kilometres of the 205-square-kilometre Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve.
He reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to enforcing government directives and ensuring that individuals found violating the law are held accountable.
