4,500 Chinese leave Ghana after illegal mining crackdown

More than 4,500 Chinese have left Ghana since a crackdown on illegal mining began in June, with the illicit industry having drawn scores of Chinese to the west African nation, an official said Friday.

“The Chinese (arrested)… as at 3rd July from 1st June is 571,” Ghana Immigration Services spokesman Francis Palmdeti said. That number includes those who were arrested and others who voluntarily turned themselves in to immigration authorities in Ghana, a major gold producer.

A total of 4,592 Chinese, including those arrested, have departed the country since the government sent a task force of police, military and immigration officials to Ghana’s gold mining regions, he said. The task force is aimed at rooting out illegal small-scale miners blamed for ruining the environment.