At least 23 lives have been lost to abandoned illegal mining pits in the Ashanti Region, with a significant number of them being minors.

Although 19 bodies have been retrieved from the open pits, the remaining four are still trapped deep in the pits.

This was revealed by the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, during the commissioning of the new ultramodern office complex for the Minerals Commission in Kumasi.

Speaking at the event, the Regional Minister recounted that 11 of the deceased are children.

He noted that many of the victims were innocent residents who were attempting to access their farms but met their untimely deaths.

“Twenty-three lives have been lost only because they were on their way to their farms and fell into pits that were left uncovered by miners within the various areas. Only 19 have been recovered from the pits; the remaining four we have not been able to recover,” he said.

He added: “Eleven of them are children whose future has been cut short because someone, in his quest for money, left a pit uncovered within some of these areas that lead to farmlands.”

As a result, Dr Amoakohene emphasised that the Regional Security Council, with support from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, has begun reclamation efforts to cover all abandoned illegal mining pits dotted across several communities.

“We have started reclamation efforts to cover these abandoned pits. The work is truly ongoing and we want to thank the Minister for that,” Dr Amoakohene noted as he called on stakeholders to support the initiative.

He further noted that, through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the security services together with the Forestry Commission have been able to remove all permanent structures developed in the region’s forest reserves.

Dr Amoakohene asserted that structures, including filling stations sited deep in forest reserves, have all been rendered non-operational to halt fuel supplies to illegal miners.

“In times past, there used to be filling stations well established within forest reserves to support mining activities. As we speak now, there is no forest reserve in the Ashanti Region that has a filling station or any permanent structure,” he said.

Dr Amoakohene also indicated that the government, in collaboration with the UK government, has erected permanent camps and structures along rivers in the region to be occupied by forest guards to safeguard the forests and water bodies.