More than 3,000 excavators have been left sitting at the Tema Port as owners appear reluctant to claim them following the government's intensified crackdown on illegal mining through a nationwide equipment tracking system.

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, revealed on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, that while thousands of excavators remain uncollected, nearly 2,000 machines already operating on mining sites are being monitored in real time to ensure they do not go beyond licensed concessions.

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Addressing a press conference in Accra on July 16, 2026, the minister said the geo-fencing technology had become a key tool in the government's fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

"We still have over 3,000 excavators waiting for the owners to pick," he said.

The equipment tracking programme, introduced as part of broader efforts to regulate the use of earth-moving machinery in the mining sector, allows authorities to monitor excavators around the clock and detect any movement outside legally approved mining areas.

Buah explained that the initiative started in July 2025, when approximately 1,200 excavators were impounded at Tema Port for verification and registration before they could be released for use.

He said the registration exercise gathered momentum over the following months.

By September 2025, 1,015 excavators had been registered nationwide, with tracking devices installed on 647 of them.

The number of registered machines increased to 1,800 by January 2026, while 1,033 excavators had been fitted with the monitoring devices.

According to the minister, the latest figures indicate that 4,300 units of earth-moving and mining equipment have now been registered at Tema Port, with tracking devices installed on 1,864 of them.

Buah noted that the tracking system is backed by the Minerals and Mining (Mineral Operations, Tracking of Earth-Moving and Mining Equipment) Regulations, 2020 (L.I. 2404), which require all mining-related earth-moving equipment to be registered and operated only within licensed concessions.

He said the programme is being implemented through collaboration between the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Transport, the Ghana Revenue Authority, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, and the Minerals Commission.

Although the minister disclosed that thousands of excavators remain at the port, he did not state why their owners had failed to claim them or indicate what sanctions or next steps the government would take if the machines remained uncollected.

NA/VPO