Police in the Western Region have arrested 12 illegal miners suspected of damaging sections of the Nsuta-Takoradi rail line at Akyem in the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality. The suspects are expected to be arraigned before the Tarkwa Circuit Court today (Tuesday, October 7). This came to light when Western Regional Minister Joseph Nelson led the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) to the damaged area yesterday. The Minister’s visit followed a viral video and Daily Graphic publication showing the active rail line’s destruction.
He condemned the devastation caused by the group of miners who entered without permission. They dug up and destroyed a large stretch of the rail lines to serve their selfish interests. Mr. Nelson stated the railway is critical for the country’s manganese exports. As the company worked to recover, the individuals took advantage and caused havoc. He also expressed regret that residents condoned the illegality by refusing to report the perpetrators to the state, despite it occurring in broad daylight.
“This poses a threat not only to national assets but also to our very survival, as environmental pollution continues to worsen, affecting water supply, forests, and water bodies, among others,” he stated. The Regional Minister encouraged the police to intensify their surveillance efforts to prevent such illegal activities, noting, “Clearly, this mining operation did not start overnight; it has likely been ongoing for weeks or even months.”
Mr. Nelson appealed to traditional leaders to take greater responsibility for their communities and urged the Ghana Railways Authority to enhance its patrols to prevent further damage. “I encourage you to inspect the railway lines and identify other affected areas,” he added.
Blame
Some residents have attributed the situation to certain officials within the Ghana Railways Authority, claiming these individuals assured miners that the new standard gauge line under construction would not pass through the Akyem community, and gave them permission to proceed.
Sampson Nyame, the Assistant Superintendent of Tracks at the GRC, informed REGSEC that monitoring the rail lines had become extremely challenging because their only railcar for inspections was out of service. Meanwhile, the local youth and other community members, expressing regret over the incident, have pledged to help restore the damaged areas and actively protect the community from further illegal mining.
The damage, which was discovered last Wednesday [Oct 1, 2025], has affected rail tracks, slippers and works at Akyem, a community near Nsuta in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality, while large portions of the land on which the rail line lies are degraded in yet another telling impact of illegal mining, commonly call galamsey in local parlance.
The destroyed stretch no longer sits on solid ground, but hangs over pits dug by the illegal miners, while other sections are covered with sand. The damage came to the attention of the company only last week when someone passing through the area informed the District Manager about what he had noticed on the ground.
Officials’ response
Ghana Railway Company officials stated that a comprehensive assessment is needed to determine if the damage is limited to the Akyem area or affects additional locations. They estimate that repairing the affected rail line could cost the company at least $18 million. According to sources, illegal miners obtained the land from local traditional authorities, who have continued to support both day and night mining operations, resulting in significant environmental destruction.
The miners reportedly acquired land that includes the Ghana Railway Company’s right of way and buffer zones within the community. The galamseyers in the community are said to deploy a technology known locally as “one leg”, which involves the combination of a big water hose and a high-pressure water pump to wash the earth after initial digging by an excavator. The “one leg” is said to be more deadly in terms of speed of destruction of the environment than conventional excavators.
Collapsed operations
The company revealed that illegal miners had effectively shut down its manganese haulage operations, which had been a major contributor to the national economy. According to Deputy Chief Civil Engineer Emmanuel Aggudey, in an interview with Graphic Online’s Dotsey Komla Aklorbortu, the company suspended operations in January 2025 for safety and maintenance reasons.
During this period, it sought government support to repair its rolling stock—including locomotives, tracks, sleepers, and wagons—and to carry out necessary line maintenance. However, while efforts were underway to restore operations, illegal miners took advantage of the pause, encroaching on the railway lines and causing extensive damage. This destruction ultimately forced a complete halt to the company’s activities.
Current situation
The current situation, Mr Aggudey said, was no longer an issue about getting the rollingstock fixed and back into service, but instead about how the activities of the illegal miners had now quadrupled the cost of maintenance of the rollingstock and fixing the destroyed stretch.
“The activities of these galamseyers were known to us, and sensing danger, we wrote to the sector ministry, and as a proactive measure, went to the community to engage the chiefs and leaders of the Akyem community. The chiefs assured us that they would ensure that the miners did not go closer to the lines and even have the degraded areas reclaimed, ” he said.
Mr Aggudey said it was mindboggling that the community looked on and allowed the miners to cause such havoc to national assets. “As we speak, the miners are actively working throughout the day and night with a high level of impunity, ” he added. The Deputy Chief Civil Engineer said at present, due to the finances of the company, “we are unable to get it done, since the money required is beyond the finances of the company, as even our workers’ salaries are in arrears.
Therefore, the damage caused by these illegal miners is serious and creates a difficult situation for the company.” Mr Aggudey, however, expressed the hope that the recent efforts to combat galamsey in the region and across the country would lead to the clearing of the miners on the line so that the company could get back on its feet.
Source: Dotsey Koblah Aklorbortu
