NAIMOS targets suppliers of equipment used in illegal mining in Aowin and Enchi

The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has announced plans to target individuals and businesses manufacturing or selling equipment used in illegal mining as part of efforts to curb galamsey in Aowin and Enchi in the Western North Region.

Director of Operations at NAIMOS, Colonel S. K. Appiah, said the taskforce would focus on the supply chain supporting illegal mining activities in addition to enforcement against operators.

Speaking during a tour of the taskforce’s operations in the area, he said the objective was to enforce the law and halt the destruction of the environment without unnecessarily undermining legitimate livelihoods.

“We are not here to destroy livelihoods, but to enforce the law,” he said.

“A lot of people have gone out of their way, destroying water, destroying forest reserves.”

Aowin and Enchi are endowed with gold deposits, forest reserves and major water bodies, including the Tano and Bia rivers. However, illegal mining activities have raised concerns about damage to water bodies, agricultural lands and forest ecosystems.

Colonel Appiah warned that continued environmental degradation could have serious consequences for future generations, urging residents to support efforts to stop illegal mining.

“I always tell them that if their predecessors had done it this way, we'd not have been alive to meet it as it is. And we count on your support to ensure that we are able to curb illegal mining within this district,” he said.

He expressed confidence that sustained enforcement and community cooperation could help restore areas damaged by illegal mining.

“So that going into the future we'll be able to recover the lands, recover the water, and then we'll see marked improvement in the levels,” he added.

The planned crackdown extends the focus beyond miners to businesses and individuals who manufacture, distribute or sell equipment used in illegal operations.

NAIMOS is expected to continue its activities in the Western North Region, targeting those involved in illegal mining and the supply networks that support it.

Illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey, remains a major environmental concern in Ghana because of its effects on forests, rivers and farmland.

Although successive governments have pledged to tackle the practice, enforcement and accountability remain central to efforts to address the problem.

The effectiveness of the latest operation will depend on the extent to which authorities can enforce the law consistently and disrupt the networks sustaining illegal mining.