Hot SourceThe Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has launched a crackdown on Changfan machines used in river-based illegal mining, as part of renewed efforts to protect Ghana’s water bodies from destruction caused by galamsey.
The machines, which extract gold from riverbeds, have been linked to massive pollution, siltation, and loss of aquatic life. The EPA said it has observed the unauthorised fabrication and sale of the equipment across parts of the country.
Under the new directive, the EPA has prohibited the fabrication, importation, and use of Changfan machines without an environmental permit. It warned that any workshops producing or selling them would be shut down, with equipment seized and dismantled.
“The use of these machines in river mining poses serious risks to the environment and public health,” the Authority stated.
The agency also issued a final warning to miners operating in rivers to stop immediately, adding that enforcement teams, supported by security agencies — will undertake nationwide operations to ensure compliance through arrests, prosecutions, and confiscation of equipment.
Environmental analysts have long argued that the continued use of Chanfan machines worsens the country’s battle against illegal mining, as the machines dig up riverbeds and release mercury and other pollutants into water sources relied on by local communities.
The EPA said it will continue to coordinate with relevant ministries and district assemblies to monitor compliance and strengthen Ghana’s environmental governance framework.
The directive follows years of growing public concern over the rapid degradation of Ghana’s river systems — a challenge President John Mahama’s administration has repeatedly pledged to confront through stricter enforcement and community engagement.
Read the attached press statement in full below:
The post EPA cracks down on Changfan machines to curb galamsey pollution appeared first on The Herald ghana.
