Galamsey: 4,000 excavators held at ports under new controls – Lands Minister

More than 4,000 excavators remain at Ghana’s ports as the government tightens controls on the importation and deployment of heavy-duty mining equipment in an effort to prevent the machines from being diverted to illegal mining operations.

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, said the new system requires importers to provide details of the intended owner, end user and location where each excavator is expected to operate before the equipment can be cleared.

The new controls form part of the government's wider strategy to target the equipment and financing networks that support illegal mining, rather than focusing solely on operations at mining sites.