The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has announced plans to extend its anti-galamsey operations to equipment manufacturers, suppliers, transporters and businesses suspected of facilitating illegal mining.

The decision follows an operation at Eshaem in the Nzema East Municipality of the Western Region, where the task force seized a truck loaded with 22 brand-new chanfang machines and secured a nearby store containing equipment and spare parts suspected to be linked to illegal mining.

The operation, carried out along the Eshaem road towards the Ankobra River, also led to the destruction of 28 chanfang machines, 19 water pump, and five makeshift structures used for illegal mining.

During the exercise, personnel uncovered several illegal mining sites, including two major locations close to the river. Evidence of recent excavator activity was observed at one site, while three excavators were found at another. A monitor was recovered from one of the machines, while critical components had been removed from the others.

On their return, the task force intercepted a Hyundai truck offloading the 22 chanfang machines into a store. Both the truck and its cargo were seized. An adjoining store containing a substantial quantity of equipment and spare parts was also secured pending investigations into the ownership, source, and intended destination of the items.

NAIMOS says the expanded strategy is designed to disrupt the supply networks that enable illegal miners to replace destroyed or confiscated machinery and quickly resume operations. The Secretariat maintains that targeting mining sites alone is not enough to end the practice, as operators can easily obtain replacement equipment.

The new approach will focus on chanfang fabricators, equipment manufacturers and assemblers, dealers, suppliers, transporters, warehouses, and individuals suspected of knowingly renting out machinery for illegal mining. Intelligence-gathering will also be intensified to identify facilities involved in manufacturing, assembling, storing and distributing equipment used for galamsey.

The Eshaem operation forms part of Operation WATER SHIELD, an initiative aimed at protecting the Ankobra River from the destructive effects of illegal mining, including water pollution, the degradation of farmlands and damage to environmentally sensitive areas.

NAIMOS has warned that individuals and businesses suspected of knowingly supplying, transporting, storing, manufacturing or renting out equipment for illegal mining could face enforcement action, even if they do not operate directly at mining sites.

The Secretariat says it will continue operations along the Ankobra River corridor and collaborate with relevant security and regulatory institutions to investigate intercepted equipment and take appropriate action where links to illegal mining are established.