The foreigners include Chinese, Malians and Burkinabes who are said to be heavily armed and difficult to control. The Minister of Environment Science and Technology, Ms. Sherry Ayittey who disclosed this at the review policy meeting of the environmental and natural resources sector on Monday said the activities of the illegal miners posed a threat to national security and called the National House of Chiefs to assist government to deal with the situation.

The meeting on the theme, ‘promoting good governance in mining, forestry and environmental management , gave a platform for major stakeholders to discuss critical and emerging issues in the sector and chart the way forward.

Commenting on the issues, Alhaji Collins Duada, Minister of lands and resources told the Times newspaper that surface mining was reserved for Ghanaians and it was, therefore, illegal for foreigners to be granted license for it.

He warned that Chiefs and other stakeholder’s right to grant mining license will be prosecuted.

The Mineral and Mining Act vest in the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, the sole right to grant mining license. Alhaji Duada said he has provided funds for a joint military /police task force, to move around the country to clamp down on illegal mining activities.

He appealed to the public to provide information on illegal mining activities in their localities to help the task force to track down the illegal miners.

The Ghanaian Times