The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), in partnership with the Ghana Army and the Forestry Commission, has conducted a significant operation in the Atwima Mponua Forest Reserve, dismantling illegal mining sites and confiscating equipment owned by illegal mining operators.
The operation took place at Anhwiafutu in the Nkawie Forest District of the Offin Shelter Belt on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, following several weeks of intelligence gathering.
Upon arriving at dawn, the joint task force discovered substantial evidence of illegal mining, with excavator tracks throughout the community suggesting that multiple machines had been relocated just prior to the team’s arrival. Some miners present at the site fled upon noticing the officers.
The task force demolished numerous makeshift structures and immobilized nine excavators hidden within the forest. Additionally, they confiscated two Toyota Hilux pickups and one Nissan pickup.
Furthermore, the team set fire to five Chanfang machines, fuel dumps, old excavator engines, seven water pumping machines, and various personal items left behind at the sites.
The operation also extended to a residential property suspected of housing 12 Chinese illegal miners. Although the occupants had escaped at dawn, a search revealed 18 excavator batteries, 31 buckets of grease, seven gas cylinders, an excavator radiator, and a mini car-washing machine.
According to NAIMOS, the immobilized excavators could not be removed from the community due to logistical challenges.
Officials state that the operation highlights the government’s renewed dedication to protecting forest reserves from illegal mining activities and the armed groups that support them.
