Small-scale miners in the Juaboso District of the Western North Region have refuted claims by the Forestry Commission that 13 excavators were seized from the Krokosue Hills Forest Reserve during a recent anti-illegal mining operation.
Their response follows remarks by the Juaboso Forest District Manager, Horatius Kofi Asano, who told Adom News earlier this week that the Forestry Commission, in collaboration with the military, had confiscated the machines as part of efforts to clamp down on illegal mining within the reserve.
However, at a press conference held in Kwawkrom, spokesperson for the Small-Scale Miners Association, David Ankamah, described the forestry manager’s statement as misleading and false.
According to Ankamah, the excavators were not seized from within the Krokosue Hills Forest Reserve but from areas in the township where they had been parked. He further clarified that the mining activities were taking place on an old site, which had been in use since 2012, and not within any protected forest zone.
He also noted that the operation was carried out on a Thursday—a day observed as sacred by local miners—during which no mining activities are conducted.
Ankamah has issued a three-day ultimatum to the Forestry Commission to either retract or clarify the statement, warning that the miners would take further action if the demand is not met.
Meanwhile, Assemblyman for the Boinzan Electoral Area, Aha Kojo Vincent, has called for calm between the Forestry Commission and the miners. He urged the Commission to provide clear evidence to support its claim that the excavators were impounded from the reserve.