NAIMOS launches ‘Operation Water Shield’ to protect Ghana’s rivers from illegal mining

The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has launched a sustained national enforcement campaign to protect the country's major rivers and critical water resources from the effects of illegal mining.

Dubbed "Operation Water Shield," the campaign will target major river systems, including the Birim, Ankobra, Tano, Bia, Pra and Offin, as well as affected sections of the Black and White Volta systems.

The operation will also focus on strategic river source areas and upper catchments whose degradation threatens water quality and communities downstream.

“Operation WATER SHIELD marks a shift from isolated raids to a sustained, intelligence-led campaign to secure priority river systems from their source areas to downstream communities and water-treatment facilities,” NAIMOS said in a statement issued on Friday, September 11.

The Secretariat said the operation would be conducted with relevant security and state agencies to protect river sources, prevent illegal miners from accessing waterways and dismantle mining logistics networks.

It will also target the criminal and financial structures that support illegal mining, while supporting the restoration of degraded water bodies and establishing continuous monitoring to prevent miners from returning to cleared areas.

NAIMOS said enforcement would target excavators, chanfang machines, water pumps, dredging equipment and other machinery used to destroy water bodies.

The campaign will also extend to facilitators, unauthorised fabricators of chanfang machines and individuals or companies that rent or supply equipment for illegal mining.

“Enforcement under Operation WATER SHIELD will be firm, sustained and uncompromising, within the law,” the Secretariat stated.

NAIMOS said the ultimate objective was to substantially degrade and contain illegal mining within protected watersheds, restrict the movement of heavy equipment into critical river systems, disrupt financing and supply networks, improve water quality and restore control over affected river basins.