Illegal gold mining has resumed along the Tano River and near Samereboi’s main airstrip, just four months after floods submerged almost half the town in Ghana’s Western Region.
Drone footage filmed on Monday, November 9 by an aJoyNews team led by journalist Erastus Asare Donkor showed several excavators working along the riverbanks and inside areas that had previously been mined.
More than seven excavators were also seen digging around the airstrip. Their operations have left deep pits and gullies across parts of the landing area, with the damage extending towards the township and the Tano River.
The return of heavy machinery to the river’s natural flow path has raised concerns that Samereboi could face another disaster. The timber-producing community was severely affected by flooding in June 2026, when rising water covered almost half of the town.
A community water pumping station operated by timber company Samartex was among the facilities submerged. The flooding also led to emergency relief support for families who were displaced.
Some residents attributed the disaster to the anger of river gods, saying annual rituals had not been performed. However, a local fact-finding team concluded that illegal mining at Kyemiso had blocked an important channel linking the Tano and Samire rivers.
The obstruction forced water back towards Samereboi, contributing to the inundation of the town, according to the team’s findings.
During a visit to the affected area on June 30, Environmental Protection Authority Chief Executive Officer Prof Nana Ama Browne Klutse said the flooding was linked to waterways that had been blocked and diverted.
She said the EPA was considering dredging the channels and re-engineering them to improve water flow.
The latest mining activity has reportedly been backed by influential individuals, despite recent enforcement operations under Operation Water Shield, led by the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) along the Tano River.
Environmental scientists have warned that the consequences of mining in river systems could last for generations.
Prof Albert Ebo Duncan, a civil and environmental engineering lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, said on Monday that rivers polluted by galamsey could require up to 100 years to recover.
He also warned that soils damaged by the activity could take 300 years to recover.
EPA officials travelled to Samereboi in June to assess the damage caused by the floods. Residents are now calling for urgent state intervention to remove the excavators and safeguard the Tano and Samire waterways before heavy rains bring further flooding.
