20 October 2026 – The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has intensified enforcement against illegal mining in the Western Region following the recent inauguration of Community Mining Schemes in Ahanta West Municipality and Nzema East Municipality.
The renewed enforcement drive aims to ensure that regulated community mining does not serve as cover for illegal mining in adjoining communities, farms, plantations, roadsides, riverbanks, and other unauthorised locations. As part of the intensified operations, a NAIMOS Task Force conducted an enforcement patrol in the Yakaw area of the Ahanta West Municipality on 20 October 2026, during which several suspected illegal miners were found operating in palm plantations.
The Task Force raided the identified sites and arrested 14 suspected illegal miners, who were subsequently handed over to the Agona Police Station for further investigation. During the operation, personnel also destroyed 19 chanfang machines, 18 water pumps and two makeshift structures used to support illegal mining activities. Scrap and other materials from the dismantled sites were removed with support from personnel of the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation (GIISDEC).
The Yakaw operation demonstrates NAIMOS’ determination to extend enforcement beyond mining activities carried out directly in rivers. Increasingly, illegal miners are moving into farmland, cocoa and palm plantations, roadside areas and other locations to evade enforcement and continue unregulated mining. NAIMOS has therefore served notice that it will expand and intensify operations across these locations.
The Secretariat emphasises that Community Mining Schemes provide a regulated framework for eligible miners to operate within approved areas and under prescribed conditions. They do not legitimise mining outside approved concessions or protect those who continue to mine illegally. Illegal miners who choose to operate outside the law should expect sustained enforcement action. Their sites will be targeted, their illegal operations disrupted, their equipment dealt with in accordance with applicable procedures, and any persons apprehended will be handed over to the appropriate authorities for investigation and prosecution.
NAIMOS’s message is clear: the availability of Community Mining Schemes removes any justification for continued illegal mining. Those who reject the lawful framework and continue to destroy farms, plantations, roadsides and water bodies should expect decisive and sustained enforcement action.
NAIMOS will continue working with the security agencies, local authorities and other relevant institutions to ensure responsible and lawful mining is protected and illegal mining is systematically disrupted across the Western Region and other affected parts of the country.
source:www.senaradioonline.com
