Ghana and China have agreed on a framework to ensure that Chinese nationals who engage in illegal mining also known as galamsey in Ghana face sanctions in both countries, Minerals Commission Chief Executive Officer Isaac Tandoh has disclosed.
Under the proposed arrangement, Chinese nationals found violating Ghana’s mining laws will face legal consequences in Ghana, alongside sanctions through Chinese authorities’ mechanisms for regulating the conduct of their citizens abroad.
Mr Tandoh said the framework, agreed at the 2026 China Mining Conference, was expected to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in tackling illegal mining and ensuring accountability for Chinese nationals involved in the practice.
Addressing the China-Ghana Mining Cooperation Conference in Accra on Tuesday ( November 10), he called for the framework to be operationalised without delay.
He said the arrangement should ensure that deportation does not become an escape from accountability for Chinese nationals arrested and prosecuted for illegal mining in Ghana.
“This dual-enforcement pathway must be operationalised without delay, so that deportation is not a soft landing but a prelude to accountability,” he said.
Mr Tandoh also called for stronger cooperation between the Chinese government and Ghanaian security and regulatory agencies to dismantle the financing and logistical networks supporting illegal mining.
He said illegal mining was organised and financed through networks involving equipment, capital and supply chains, some of which originated outside Ghana.
He urged China to deploy its technological capabilities to help Ghana trace and disrupt those networks.
The Minerals Commission CEO further called on the Association of China-Ghana Mining to use its platform to promote regulatory compliance and report illegal activities involving its members and other Chinese nationals operating in the country.
He stressed that the association should not only facilitate commercial relations but also help discourage illegal mining.
