Uncovered illegal mining pits have claimed the lives of 23 people including 12 adults and 11 children across 19 districts in the Ashanti Region this year, leaving four others missing.

​The drownings in abandoned illegal mining pits were disclosed at the Ashanti Regional First Half-Year Review meeting organised by the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC).

Dr Frank Amoakohene, the Regional Minister speaking to the media, said the situation has become "a key concern to NADMO and the security agencies".

He issued a stern directive to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) regarding the fight against illegal mining within their jurisdictions.

​Rejecting excuses about a lack of dedicated funding, he emphasised that MMDCEs have a strict duty to act on notifications from the Forestry and Minerals Commissions or formally escalate them to NAIMOS and the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC).

"If you don't have the funding to fight it at your level, there should be evidence of you writing to NAIMOS or RCC so we can pick it up," he charged.

​In response to the drownings in the abandoned illegal mining pits, the minister said the RCC has launched targeted land reclamation projects to fill hazardous open pits in high-risk communities.

​Dr Amoakohene warned that regional security forces will aggressively target illegal operations near forest reserves, water bodies, and key infrastructure while urging miners to transition to the government-backed cooperative mining framework or face full law enforcement action.

​To protect critical infrastructure, he said a permanent Forestry Commission post supported by the UK government was recently established in the Oda Forest Reserve at Numeri.

​The minister stated that the facility protected the Oda Water Treatment Plant from a total shutdown caused by heavy upstream pollution, securing the regional water supply.