The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has intensified efforts to restore lands devastated by illegal mining, with a GH¢35 million reclamation project underway at the Tano Nimri Forest Reserve in the Western North Region.
The project targets 60 hectares of degraded land in Compartment 161 of the reserve, which suffered extensive environmental destruction from unauthorised mining activities between 2021 and 2024.
Project information indicates that illegal mining destroyed approximately 192.4 hectares of woodland, leaving deep mining pits, unstable terrain and serious threats to the reserve’s ecological integrity.
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Samuel Danso, Sustainability Manager, said a major invasion by illegal miners in 2022 severely damaged the area’s biodiversity and timber concessions previously managed by the Samatex Timber Company.
The destruction left substantial portions of the land unsuitable for natural regeneration without significant engineering intervention.
To address the environmental damage, GoldBod has committed GH¢35 million to reclaiming the affected area, with the Ghana Armed Forces Engineer Regiment carrying out major earthmoving and civil engineering works.
The operation is being undertaken under the operational command of Major Shem Adolinama.
The ongoing works include backfilling dangerous mining pits, stabilising the soil through excavation and blending mud with dry soil, and constructing drainage channels to regulate water flow.
The drainage systems are also intended to reduce the risk of sediment contamination in the Tano River, which could be affected by runoff from the degraded mining site.
As the engineering phase approaches completion, contractors are grading and levelling the land to minimise soil erosion and prepare the area for ecological restoration.
The interventions are expected to create safer ground conditions and improve the prospects for the regeneration of vegetation within the forest reserve.
GoldBod and the military engineering team are expected to hand over the reclaimed 60-hectare area to the Forestry Commission in the coming weeks.
The handover will allow the next phase of restoration to begin, including tree planting and the regeneration of indigenous vegetation.
It will also mark the transition from civil engineering works to efforts aimed at rebuilding the forest’s natural ecosystem.
Although the project focuses on 60 hectares, the reported destruction of approximately 192.4 hectares highlights the wider environmental challenge facing the Tano Nimri Forest Reserve following years of illegal mining.
GoldBod says the initiative forms part of its broader commitment to environmental sustainability and responsible resource management.
The Board maintains that economic development and environmental protection must be pursued together to safeguard Ghana’s natural resources for future generations.
The project also highlights the scale of intervention required to restore forest areas where illegal mining has left deep pits, damaged soil structures, and disrupted natural vegetation.
The effectiveness of the Tano Nimri Forest reclamation effort will ultimately depend on the successful restoration of indigenous vegetation and sustained protection of the recovered land against renewed illegal mining.