The Ashanti Regional Reclamation Committee has recovered three previously demobilised excavators that illegal miners had secretly repaired and reactivated for illegal mining near Obuasi Airport in the Obuasi Municipality of the region.
The discovery occurred during a site inspection and assessment conducted by the Committee, which includes representatives from the National Security, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Minerals Commission, and the Minerals Development Fund (MDF).
The purpose was to evaluate the extensive environmental degradation caused by persistent illegal mining ahead of a major land reclamation project.
During the visit, Regional Deputy Security Coordinator, Alhaji Abdullah Umaru Nje, explained that the three excavators had been rendered inoperative the previous week during a joint operation by National Security and the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS).
This operation resulted in the seizure of nine excavators and the demobilisation of three others through the removal of key engine components.
However, upon returning to the site for the reclamation assessment, the committee discovered operators actively working with the three demobilised machines after managing to source replacement parts.
When approached, the illegal operators quickly detached the replacement components and fled the scene.
Security personnel then brought in the necessary components, fully restored the machines, and transported all three excavators.
To prevent similar occurrences, Alhaji Nje stated that future enforcement operations would enforce the immediate, complete removal of all machinery seized at illegal mining sites.
The inspection marks a critical initial step in the upcoming comprehensive land reclamation project led by the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council (ARCC).
Once physical land restoration is completed, project leaders plan to implement community engagement initiatives.
Residents will be trained and enrolled to manage and protect plantations of oil-yielding crops on the newly reclaimed land.
Alhaji Nje urged small-scale miners across the region to work with their respective Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to obtain official land reclamation forms.
He emphasised that operators must conduct progressive reclamation alongside active mining to ensure that degraded lands are continuously restored for agricultural purposes.
For her part, Faustilove Appiah Kannin, Chief Executive of the Obuasi Municipal Assembly, highlighted the ongoing challenge of illegal miners reoccupying cleared lands.
She noted that although AngloGold Ashanti released 100 hectares of land to the community for farming in 2018, parts of this land were subsequently invaded by illegal miners.
To find a lasting solution, the MCE appealed to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to formalise sections of the concession into a Community Mining Scheme for local youth.
She remarked that efforts to drive miners away only result in their return, and called for the area to be designated for regulated community mining to bring illegal activity to an end by integrating miners into a legal framework.
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