The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has shut down a mining site linked to former Mpohor District Chief Executive Asaah Mensah and one Obed Osei over alleged illegal small-scale mining activities involving Chinese nationals.
The operation, carried out on Monday, May 18, formed part of a nationwide compliance exercise in the Mpohor District.
It was led by the Agency’s Deputy Director of Mining, Harrison Afful.
According to the EPA, the operators, who were working under the name JKCem I AM Gold, were operating without the required environmental permit and were also allegedly discharging untreated underground water into the environment.
Mr Afful said officials observed activities on the site that appeared to go beyond what is permitted under a small-scale mining licence.
“We could count several Chinese nationals on site. They are the operators, that is the information we have for now,” he stated.
“The application they submitted was for a small-scale mining operation. The law doesn’t allow foreign nationals to undertake small-scale mining operations. Per what we have seen today [May 18], the scope of the project goes beyond small-scale mining,” he added.
The EPA says the alleged actions amount to environmental offences and warned that those involved would face legal consequences.
Mr Afful further assured that the Agency would continue intensifying its monitoring and enforcement efforts to tackle illegal mining and protect the environment.
The crackdown forms part of ongoing national efforts to curb illegal mining activities, commonly known as galamsey, which continue to threaten water bodies, farmlands and forest reserves across the country.
ALSO READ:
