The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has dismissed reports suggesting that Ghana would need $10 billion to combat illegal mining, describing the figure as “grossly misleading.”

The ministry’s spokesperson, Paa Kwesi Schandorf, clarified that the sector minister never quoted such a figure during his recent media appearance. He explained that the reports misrepresented the minister’s comments.

“The minister did not categorically indicate that we needed $10 billion to fight illegal mining. What he said was that if we were to quantify the financial implications of dealing decisively with the environmental crisis, even the country’s entire budget may not suffice,” Mr Schandorf stated in an interview with Asaase Radio.

He said the false report stemmed from an interview the minister granted to TV3’s Hot Issues, adding that the station has since been engaged to correct the record.

Land devastation and cost implications

Schandorf revealed that over 5,500 hectares of land, equivalent to about 7,500 football pitches, have been destroyed by illegal mining activities across the country.

He explained that reclaiming just one hectare of land could cost about $38,000, placing the total reclamation bill in the millions of dollars.

“Reclaiming the land alone will run into millions of dollars. That’s even before we start treating polluted water bodies or deploying the needed enforcement infrastructure,” he noted.

He added that the ministry plans to deploy more than 1,000 trained military personnel to permanently monitor all 44 forest reserves affected by galamsey, as part of broader efforts to restore degraded ecosystems.

NIMOS remains the lead agency

Addressing reports that the Concerned Small-Scale Miners Association has formed its own task force to clamp down on illegal miners, Schandorf said the ministry is aware of the initiative but insists that all enforcement must be coordinated under the National Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NaIMOS).

“We are working diplomatically to integrate the small-scale miners’ peer review task force into the NAIMOS system so that their work aligns with the national structure,” he explained.

He assured that no clashes are anticipated between NAIMOS and the small-scale miners’ task force, adding that both sides have agreed to cooperate.

“There’s no evidence to suggest any confrontation. They have agreed that whenever NAIMOS is operating in a location, they will cede authority immediately,” he said.

Next steps

The ministry says it will, by the end of the week, publish an official financial estimate of Ghana’s cost of fighting illegal mining.

Schandorf reiterated that while the financial burden is significant, it remains in the millions, not billions of dollars.

“It’s a heavy cost implication, yes, but certainly not $10 billion,” he emphasised.