The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has stepped up its fight against illegal mining in the Tano North District of the Ahafo Region, carrying out an extensive operation to dismantle active galamsey sites.

The initiative targeted communities including Sukuumu, Subrisu No. 2, and Adrobaa, where illegal mining activities had been reported to threaten farmlands and pollute the Tano River.

Local residents noted that some of the affected sites were once productive rice and maize farmlands, now left scarred by mining operations.

Although most of the heavy machinery, including excavators, had been removed prior to the NAIMOS visit, the task force found makeshift shelters, logistics bases, and pumping equipment that testified to ongoing illicit activity.

The NAIMOS team destroyed remaining infrastructure, including a heavy-duty multipurpose water pumping machine, and seized or burned materials such as drums, excavator batteries, plastic chairs, and barrels.

The operation was designed to make it difficult for the miners to return and resume activities, signalling a shift from symbolic action to a tactical disruption of galamsey operations.

A source within NAIMOS explained that the operation aims to break the cycle of temporary withdrawals followed by quiet returns by making sites operationally unviable.

“Even when the miners flee, their ability to restart operations is removed. The destruction was deliberate and tactical, not symbolic,” the official noted.

For communities in Tano North, the raids provide an opportunity for the land to recover and for illegal activity to be curtailed.

NAIMOS has emphasised that sustained surveillance, intelligence gathering, and continued enforcement will be critical to ensuring the pause in galamsey activity becomes permanent, safeguarding both livelihoods and the environment.