ACCRA, Ghana, 15th July: The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, has declared that the government’s fight against illegal mining has entered a new phase, warning that perpetrators and financiers of environmental destruction will face the full force of the law.
Addressing the Government Accountability Series at the Presidency on Tuesday, the Minister described the battle against illegal mining as “the defining environmental battle of our generation,” stressing that Ghana’s rivers, forests and mineral resources must be protected for future generations.
According to him, the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) carried out 200 operations across 53 districts in six galamsey-prone regions between January and June 2026, achieving an operational strike rate of 84.1%.
The operations led to the arrest of 207 suspects, including 161 Ghanaians and 46 foreign nationals. Security personnel also seized 78 excavators, immobilized 90 others, destroyed 2,800 changfan machines operating on river bodies and demolished 1,244 illegal mining structures.
The Minister added that 112 pump-action rifles, two sidearms, two locally manufactured rifles and 1,637 rounds of assorted ammunition were recovered from illegal mining sites and handed over to the Ministry of the Interior for destruction. Water pumps confiscated during the operations have also been transferred to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to support irrigation projects.
Within forest reserves, enforcement efforts also resulted in the arrest of 258 suspects, the seizure of over 1,200 pumping machines and the destruction of hundreds of illegal mining structures.
Hon. Buah noted that Ghana has not recorded any “red zones” in its forest reserves since December 2025, describing it as evidence that government interventions are yielding positive results.
He reaffirmed government’s commitment to pursuing every individual and criminal syndicate involved in illegal mining, insisting that “the era of impunity is over.”
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites✍️)/ Presidential Affairs Correspondent | Ghana 🇬🇭