Government has intensified its anti-galamsey campaign, with the Ghana Armed Forces seizing several excavators and mining equipment during a series of coordinated operations across the country.
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This latest action, announced by the Defence Minister, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, took place simultaneously under the commands of the military’s three operational zones: Northern, Central, and Southern Commands.
According to Dr Omane Boamah, the operations were carried out in specific hotspots notorious for illegal mining, including the Bole and Black Volta Basin under the Northern Command, Nkawie and Mankranso Forest Reserves under the Central Command, and Jerusalem and the Subri Forest Reserves under the Southern Command.
The operations, which the Minister described as “anti-galamsey surgical operations,” led to the confiscation of a number of excavators and related mining equipment used in the destruction of forest reserves and water bodies.
These operations form part of the broader national strategy to clamp down on galamsey—an illegal gold mining activity that has long plagued the country, damaging vast tracts of forest land and polluting major rivers.
This destructive practice, despite being illegal, has persisted for decades, often involving both local actors and foreign nationals, particularly in rural and mineral-rich areas.
Previous governments have launched similar campaigns with varying degrees of success.
