Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), led by Chief Executive Officer Professor Nana Ama Browne Klutse, have shut down five Chinese-owned warehouses at Anwia Nkwanta in the Ashanti Region for storing and fabricating “changfan” machines and other equipment used for illegal mining.
The warehouses, which were registered as spare parts storage facilities, were discovered to contain hundreds of changfan machines and components linked to galamsey operations.
The enforcement action follows the EPA’s recent nationwide directive banning the fabrication, importation, sale, and use of changfan machines because of their destructive impact on the environment.
According to the Agency, the manufacturing of these machines was being done without the required environmental permits, in violation of the Environmental Protection Act, 2025 (Act 1124), and the Environmental Protection (Environmental Assessment) Regulations, 2025 (L.I. 2504).
In an interview, Professor Klutse said the operation forms part of the EPA’s broader strategy to curb illegal mining and its devastating effects on Ghana’s water bodies, forests, and farmlands.
According to her, the action will be replicated in other regions heavily affected by galamsey to ensure full compliance with environmental laws.
She further warned that any warehouse or individual found in breach of the directive will face prosecution.
