Unlawful miners comprising foreigners busted at New Abirem

A gaggle of unlawful miners at Oseikrom within the New Abirem District within the Japanese Area have been stopped from working.

Deputy Minister of Lands and Pure Assets, George Mireku Duker advised Citi Information that, the group was stopped “as a result of they don’t have a licence to mine. It’s in an unlawful web site. They have to produce an EPA license earlier than they begin mining”.

“No person can declare possession of this concession. Minerals Fee has not granted any concession right here,” the Deputy Minister added.

Mr. Duker is at present main a staff to clamp down on unlawful miners in some components of the Japanese Area.

The staff contains members of his ministry, the Minerals Fee, and personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service.

The unlawful miners, who’re largely foreigners from Burkina Faso, Benin and Ivory Coast, have infiltrated the communities, diverted the course of the Pra river and are mining with mercury.

The miners had pitched camp and, on seeing the Minister’s staff, run to cover within the bushes.

However the staff managed to arrest 5 of them and burnt over 30 changfan machines at Oseikrom.

Mr. Duker, who spoke to the media, expressed shock on the stage of degradation.

“The invasion of foreigners is now the pattern, and it’s now a worrying one… Those that have been arrested attest to that reality, and it is extremely unlucky that Ghanaians are permitting this to occur,” he mentioned.