The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, has revoked all mining licences held by Akonta Mining Company Limited, following mounting allegations of illegal mining activities and regulatory violations.
The decision was announced during a press conference held in Accra on Monday, April 21, 2025. According to the Minister, the company has been implicated in multiple illegal operations within forest reserves.
Akonta Mining, owned by Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, a key figure in the New Patriotic Party (NPP), is accused of breaching multiple mining regulations. Mr Buah revealed that the company had not only operated unlawfully in protected zones but had also sold concessions within the Aboi Forest Reserve to unauthorized miners.
These illegal sales reportedly went for up to GH¢300,000 per concession, and in some cases, the transactions were done in exchange for gold royalties. The Minister also noted that Akonta Mining was providing protection to illegal miners who caused serious environmental degradation to the Tano River and nearby forest compartments.
In what he described as a syndicate operation, the Minister disclosed that certain forestry officials and security personnel were bribed to shield these unlawful activities from detection.
He emphasized that these actions were not only illegal but also posed a grave threat to Ghana’s natural resources, particularly water bodies and forest reserves. “Akonta Mining does not have the license to mine in the Tano-Nimiri Forest Reserve,” he stressed. “Their activities there are illegal and criminal.”
Mr Buah detailed that an intelligence-led raid conducted on Good Friday led to the arrest of 51 suspects, including eight Chinese nationals. The operation also resulted in the seizure of 30 excavators, weapons, vehicles, and other heavy mining equipment used in the illegal operations.
Following the successful raid, the Ministry has taken swift action. All licences granted to Akonta Mining have been officially revoked. Additionally, the Minister ordered the interdiction of implicated forestry officials, pending further investigations.
He confirmed that the Attorney-General’s office and other security agencies have begun probing the incident to identify all those involved in this extensive illegal mining network.
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