Anti-galamsey operation in Western Region destroys 300 sites, forces miners to flee

The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has carried out a sweeping three-day operation in the Western Region, dismantling illegal mining settlements and seizing equipment along the Ankobra and Bonsa rivers.

The operation, which began last Thursday and ended on Saturday, was conducted with the support of the Blue Water Guards and targeted galamsey strongholds that had turned the rivers into heavily polluted sites.

A NAIMOS source told the Daily Graphic that the exercise was successful, leading to the destruction of 319 makeshift structures, 103 chanfang machines, and the seizure of 17 pumping machines, while more than 1,000 illegal miners fled as the task force advanced.

Presidential backing

The raids came just days after President John Dramani Mahama’s September 10 media engagement, where he reaffirmed his government’s determination to tackle illegal mining within the existing legal framework. 

The President dismissed calls for a state of emergency, stressing that current laws provide adequate authority to address galamsey.

He noted that nine forest reserves had already been repossessed from illegal miners and permanent military detachments deployed to prevent re-entry. 

The President also highlighted earlier successes, including the seizure of 440 excavators, 1,400 water pumps, and 300 chanfang machines, which paved the way for last week’s crackdown.

Operation details

On the first day, the task force moved into the Ashem Line community in Nzema East, targeting sites directly polluting the Ankobra River.

“The results were devastating for the illegal miners: 99 makeshift structures reduced to ashes, 54 chanfangs destroyed, and critical equipment, including pumping machines, generators, and some electronic gadgets, was seized,” the source said.

The second day’s operations extended to the Bonsa River in Tarkwa Nsuem Municipality, where operatives discovered that miners had blocked and redirected the river to facilitate their activities. The response was immediate, with 15 chanfangs destroyed, 11 pumping machines burnt, and three dredging machines dismantled.

The final day of the raid at Dwira Ashem delivered the most striking results. More than 200 makeshift structures were demolished, 34 chanfangs destroyed, and a wide range of equipment from smartphones to refrigerators confiscated. 

The community, which had sheltered over 1,000 illegal miners, was effectively dismantled.

Environmental gains

The task force focused on areas that directly polluted major rivers, including the Ankobra, Birim, Pra, and Bonsa, which the Ghana Water Ltd has repeatedly flagged as dangerously contaminated. 

NAIMOS operatives uncovered pipelines discharging waste directly into the rivers and dismantled operations that had transformed flowing streams into stagnant, polluted pools.

Three excavators previously immobilised at Ashem Line were further disabled to make them “totally inefficient,” underscoring the task force’s determination to ensure equipment could not be restored for illegal use.

Way forward

According to the NAIMOS source, the operations demonstrated that the President’s preference for intelligence-led enforcement was yielding concrete results.

He added that the task force would continue its “relentless fight against illegal mining along Ghana’s water bodies to translate presidential promises into concrete environmental action that offered hope for the restoration of the nation’s polluted rivers and forests.”

“The message from this week’s operations is clear: the era of treating galamsey as an unstoppable menace is over,” the highly placed source said