Livelihoods of thousands of residents of Kwawiaso near Adumanu in the Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region are in danger following the invasion of Chinese galamsey operators in Obuasi and surrounding communities.
A tour of the area revealed massive destruction of the environment, including farms, without compensation as well as the pollution of the Kowia River, which serves as the only source of drinking water for residents of the community.
The touring team came across illegal Chinese miners using heavy duty equipment to work the land even as more containers of equipment were being transported to the site.
What was putting the lives of residents at risk was the improper use of mercury, a very dangerous chemical, by the illegal miners to wash gold along the river and the other water bodies.
Further investigations showed the area on which the Chinese were mining (about 100 acres) was within the legal concession of AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) Limited, a mining company, though the Chinese claimed to have bought it from chiefs of the area, with the name of one chief, Nana Abankroh, Kontihene of Adumanu, coming up as the one who sold the land to the Chinese.
Head of Corporate Affairs of AGA, John Owusu said some six months ago, AGA noticed the presence of the Chinese on their concession and when they enquired they were told that they (Chinese) had legally acquired the land from the chiefs for mining.
According to Mr Owusu, the matter was reported to the police last month who on May 22, this year arrested 39 illegal Chinese miners, but later released them.
He said as a corporate body, AngloGold cannot forcibly eject and destroy the structures of the illegal operators on their land.
�Only a court order can remove them,� he said.
Some affected residents of the communities accused those they described as faceless politicians as being behind the invasion of the Chinese illegal miners.
They also accused the immigration officers at Obuasi who looked on unconcerned as these Chinese walked about town without working permits.
Interestingly, as the battle against illegal mining rages on, some of the local illegal miners are calling for the immediate termination of activities of these Chinese illegal miners.
�The Chinese are gradually taking our jobs and pushing local �galamseyers� out of business because looking at the sophisticated machines they are using, we cannot compete with them,� one local illegal miner told The Finder.
Currently there are between 400 and 500 illegal Chinese miners and about 1,000 local illegal miners within Obuasi and its surrounding communities.
According to Ghanaian law, anybody who undertakes any mining activity without the permission of the Minerals Commission does so illegally.
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