Nine suspected illegal miners, including five foreign nationals, were taken into custody by a joint security task force headed by the Savannah Regional Security Council (REGSEC) during an operation along the Black Volta Basin in the Savannah Region’s Bamboi enclave.
Twelve excavators, generators, and other mining tools used by the unauthorized miners were also seized by the task team. As investigations proceed, the seized equipment has already been relocated to the Bamboi Police Station.
When the miners saw the security personnel, some of them were able to flee by plunging into the river.
The operation, which lasted more than 15 hours, was carried out in response to mounting worries about the harm that illicit mining operations were causing to the environment and to the water.
Salisu Be-Awurbe, the Savannah Regional Minister, voiced his profound concern in an interview about the destruction brought about by illicit mining in the region.
“We received reports about the destruction caused by mining activities, but seeing the situation firsthand has left me heartbroken and shocked. The miners have blocked portions of the Black Volta with sand to facilitate their illegal operations, and the damage to the environment is alarming,” he said.
He promised to screen and prosecute all of the suspects in line with the law.
Mr. Be-Awurbe reaffirmed the government’s determination to further up its efforts to combat illicit mining in the enclave, announcing that additional operations would be carried out in the days ahead to stop the threat.
Along the Black Volta, illegal mining operations have gained notoriety and are a major danger to wildlife, water bodies, and vital infrastructure like the downstream Bui Power Generation Dam and the Akosombo Power Generation Dam.
The Black Volta, which forms the border between Ghana and Burkina Faso as well as Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, begins in Burkina Faso and runs north and east for roughly 200 miles (320 km) before turning south for 340 miles (550 km).
The Black Volta flows about 80 miles (130 km) eastward until draining into Lake Volta at the Bamboi enclave in the Savannah Region, where it turns north and east.
Source: newsthemegh.com