47 Nigeriens, Burkinabes arrested for illegal mining

A joint force of police personnel and members of the Operation Vanguard team has arrested some 47 illegal miners at Asamama in the Atiwa West District of the Eastern Region. The arrest was carried out on Monday, March 4, when the joint force embarked on an operation to rid the area of illegal miners as part of their operational duties. According to police reports, the illegal miners are nationals of Burkina Faso and Niger. Upon arrest, the police retrieved 48 complete set of gold-detecting machines, an amount of GhȻ6, 15,500, CFA69, 000, 30,000,00 Guinea Franc(GNF), 41 pickaxes and 8 new batteries. The illegal miners are currently in police custody, pending further investigations. Government through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has been very vocal about the fight against illegal mining since President Nana Akufo-Addo took over as president in 2017. The Ministry launched the galamsey taskforce, Operation Vanguard, to help arrest illegal miners in the country, and put a stop to illegal mining. An Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) was also established to regulate mining activities in  the country. Despite these measures and effort from government, some persons still remain adamant, and continue mining illegally in the country. However, the taskforce is also still on the road, seeking to arrest these illegal miners and put their activities to a stop. Source: editors.3news.com|Ghana