The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has lamented the high cost of restoring lands destroyed by illegal mining activities.

Speaking on Joy Prime on Friday, February 6, 2026, the Media Relations Officer of the Ministry, Paa Kwesi Schandorf, stated that about $48,000 is required to reclaim a hectare of land, with 5,500 hectares needing to be reclaimed.

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He stated that with the right resources, destroyed lands could be reclaimed within a year and restored to even better conditions.

“This can be done within a year. Within a year, you can move from this situation and then migrate to this more pristine condition. The only challenge is that it's a very cost-intensive enterprise, so you have 5,500 hectares of land that have been devastated.

“If you want to reclaim a single hectare, you are looking at about $48,000, so we can begin to do the math. $48,000 by 5,500, that is how cost-intensive it is to reclaim a single hectare of land that has been devastated,” he disclosed.

He cited the reclamation project at Manso Adubia, which was facilitated by Newmont Ghana, as a successful example of private sector partnership in restoring degraded lands.

However, he noted that only 320 hectares have so far been reclaimed, leaving more than 5,500 hectares still requiring restoration.

“The reclamation at Manso Adubia was facilitated by Newmont Ghana but we have so many more to go. We have only done 320 hectares, and we have over 5,500 hectares of land,” he shared.

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The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, recently inspected the successful reclamation of 320 hectares of mined-out sites at Manso Nyankomanse in the Ashanti Region.



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