The Ghana Gold Board  (GOLDBOD) will support the reclamation of three forest reserves devastated by illegal mining in 2027, its chief executive Sammy Gyamfi has said.

The state-owned gold trading company has already begun supporting reclamation efforts and will expand the programme next year, Gyamfi said during a conversation on X on Sunday (9 August).

Among the areas targeted are the Tano Nimri Forest Reserve and Apaprama, both of which have been affected by illegal mining, locally known as “galamsey”.

“We are reclaiming it. And next year, we are taking up three devastated forest reserves because the President is so passionate about it,” Gyamfi said.

He stressed that GoldBod was not responsible for the destruction of the reserves but had chosen to contribute to restoring areas degraded by mining.

Gyamfi said the reclamation programme formed part of GoldBod’s broader response to the environmental damage caused by illegal mining, alongside efforts to formalise small-scale mining and promote more environmentally responsible practices.

“The solving of environmental concerns while at the same time dealing with the economic need that the gold must meet are not mutually exclusive; it goes hand in hand,” he said.

GoldBod has also provided 5 million Ghanaian cedis and five pickup vehicles to the National Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (NAIMOS) to strengthen enforcement operations, Gyamfi said.

The company has additionally budgeted for 10 speedboats to support operations on water bodies affected by illegal mining. The boats have already been ordered and are being manufactured, he added.

Ghana has struggled for years to contain illegal mining, which has contributed to the degradation of forests and contamination of rivers and other water bodies.

Gyamfi appealed to Ghanaians to give GoldBod more time to implement its interventions, saying the illegal mining crisis could not be resolved immediately.

He said a combination of formalisation, enforcement, reclamation and traceability would be needed to reduce the environmental damage associated with small-scale mining while maximising the economic benefits of Ghana’s gold resources.