Also known as: Mr Asare Donkor · award-winning journalist Erastus Asare Donkor
Environmental journalist reporting on illegal mining in Ghana, warning of reversed progress against galamsey in forest reserves.
Verbatim sentences from the source article.
The Chronicle
… erefore have not relented in this drive, revealing that within the past year, they facilitated and connected several journalists to various training opportunities, particularly with the support from Reporters Without Borders Germany and through the support of Erastus Asare Donkor …
2025 GJA Ashanti Excellence Awards LaunchedJoy Online
Ghana is losing ground in the fight against illegal mining in its forest reserves, award-winning journalist Erastus Asare Donkor has warned. …
Galamsey is taking back our forests – Erastus Asare Donkor warns gains are being lostJoy Online
… How dare all of us that we have these people die?” He cited several locations where illegal mining activities, he said, continue despite efforts to curb the practice. “Ask Erastus Asare Donkor what we are calling the responsible mining that they were going to launch when he speak …
We have not honoured them – Ken Ashigbey questions galamsey fight a year after helicopter tragedyJoy Online
… How dare all of us that we have these people die?” He cited an incident of illegal mining along the Bekwai road as further evidence that the problem persists despite repeated promises to tackle it. “Ask Erastus Asare Donkor what we are calling the responsible mining that they are …
How dare we allow this? – Ken Ashigbey blasts nation’s failure to stop galamseyJoy Online
Award-winning journalist Erastus Asare Donkor has warned that Ghana is losing ground in the fight against illegal mining, with illegal miners returning to forest reserves previously cleared of destructive activities. …
We are rolling back the gains – Erastus Asare Donkor warns galamsey gains are being lostThe Chronicle
… Aquatic life and biodiversity are at the mercy of humans’ unrelenting quest for wealth. “We have to honour their memory by doing what is right for our fight against illegal,” environmental journalist Erastus Asare Donkor noted. …
The August 6 tragedy and Ghana’s Galamsey fight: Any lessons learnt?Joy Online
Award-winning JoyNews environmental journalist Erastus Asare Donkor has alleged that some illegal miners are exploiting the government’s cooperative mining scheme as a cover to continue destructive mining activities in parts of the country. …
Galamsey operators exploiting cooperative mining scheme to destroy communities – Erastus Asare DonkorJoy Online
… Aquatic life and biodiversity are at the mercy of humans’ unrelenting quest for wealth. “We have to honour their memory by doing what is right for our fight against illegal,” environmental journalist Erastus Asare Donkor noted. …
The August 6 tragedy and Ghana’s Galamsey fight: Any lessons learnt?The Ghanaian Times
… According to JoyNews reporter Erastus Asare Donkor, illegal mining has become widespread in parts of the Mpohor Fiase District, with miners operating openly close to the police station. …
NAIMOS arrests 19 suspected illegal miners at Mpohor FiaseJoy Online
… According to JoyNews’ Erastus Asare Donkor, illegal mining has become deeply entrenched in parts of the Mpohor Fiase District, with some miners operating openly in close proximity to the community’s police station. …
NAIMOS arrests 19 suspected illegal miners operating near Mpohor Fiase Police Station following JoyNews’ reportThe Ghana Journalists Association's Ashanti Regional chapter has launched the 2025 Ashanti GJA Excellence Awards, open to all media practitioners in the region for works published or broadcast during 2025. The awards include two divisions covering eight news categories plus special honours for veteran journalists and the regional journalist of the year.
10 September 2026 · The Chronicle →
The Ghana Journalists Association's Ashanti Regional chapter has launched the 2025 Ashanti GJA Excellence Awards, open to all media practitioners in the region for works published or broadcast during 2025. The awards include two divisions covering eight news categories plus special honours for veteran journalists and the regional journalist of the year.
10 September 2026 · The Chronicle →
Journalist Erastus Asare Donkor warns that progress made in clearing illegal miners from forest reserves in 2025 is being reversed, with previously inaccessible areas now being reclaimed by galamsey operators. He noted that areas classified as "red zones" by the Forestry Commission due to armed miners have regressed from zero red zones at the start of 2026.
13 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Dr Ken Ashigbey, convener of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining, says Ghana has not honoured the memory of eight people who died in last year's helicopter crash while travelling to support anti-galamsey efforts, pointing to continued illegal mining activity in areas where state institutions are expected to enforce the law.
13 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Dr Ken Ashigbey, Convener of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining, has criticised the country's failure to stop galamsey a year after eight people, including senior military and government officials, died in a helicopter crash travelling to an anti-illegal mining programme, saying the continued destruction of water bodies and illegal mining activities raise questions about Ghana's commitment to the fight.
13 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Journalist Erastus Asare Donkor warned that Ghana is reversing progress made against illegal mining, with illegal miners returning to forest reserves that had been cleared of destructive activities. He noted that forest reserves previously classified as "red zones" by the Forestry Commission—where armed illegal miners had staged roadblocks and barred access—are now being retaken by galamsey operators.
13 August 2026 · Joy Online →
On August 6, 2025, a helicopter carrying eight Ghanaians—including the Defence and Environment ministers—crashed while travelling to an event in Obuasi aimed at confronting illegal mining. One year later, the article reflects on the tragedy and what lessons the country has learnt in its efforts to combat galamsey, which continues to ravage natural resources.
7 August 2026 · The Chronicle →
Environmental journalist Erastus Asare Donkor has alleged that illegal miners are exploiting Ghana's government cooperative mining scheme as cover for destructive mining in communities across the Eastern, Western and Ashanti regions, including Berekum, Dawma and along the Bekwai–Esiwa road.
6 August 2026 · Joy Online →
On August 6, 2025, a helicopter carrying eight people including Ghana's Defence Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Murtala Mohammed crashed while en route to an event in Obuasi aimed at confronting illegal mining, prompting national reflection on lessons from the tragedy.
6 August 2026 · Joy Online →
The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) arrested 19 suspected illegal miners at Mpohor Fiase in the Western Region following reports of galamsey activities. During the operation on July 29, officers destroyed mining equipment including 16 chanfang machines, nine water pumps, and three temporary structures, and recovered a pump-action shotgun with ammunition and GH¢120,000 in cash.
30 July 2026 · The Ghanaian Times →
The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat arrested 19 suspected illegal miners during an operation on July 29 in the Western Region, following reports of galamsey activities near Mpohor Fiase Police Station. The task force destroyed 16 chanfang machines, nine water pumps, three makeshift structures, and rendered an excavator inoperable; a pump-action shotgun and ammunition were also seized.
30 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Governance expert Prof Baffour Agyemang-Duah says the Accra High Court's conviction of NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako to 20 years' imprisonment for illegal mining on the Samreboi concession follows proper judicial process. He argues the case demonstrates accountability is possible through appropriate legal procedures, and urges further prosecutions of other individuals linked to illegal mining, which he notes has been a persistent national concern with few high-profile convictions.
20 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Investigative journalist Erastus Asare Donkor says Ghana must do more to hold individuals and companies accountable for environmental destruction, framing recent convictions as a step rather than the end of the fight against illegal mining and its damage to natural resources.
20 July 2026 · Joy Online →
NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako has been convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegal mining. Environmental activist Awula Serwah welcomed the conviction as a milestone in Ghana's fight against illegal mining and called on authorities to expand investigations and prosecute other influential figures involved in environmental destruction.
20 July 2026 · Joy Online →
The Convener of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining has commended investigative journalist Erastus Asare Donkor's reporting on illegal mining and called on the government to expand investigations into all individuals and networks implicated in galamsey, rather than treating the conviction of NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi) as an isolated case.
20 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Illegal miners in Ghana are openly promoting their activities on social media platforms like TikTok and Facebook, suggesting a belief that law enforcement is absent or unwilling to act. The article links this public flouting of the law to environmental destruction and recent flooding in the Western Region.
23 June 2026 · Joy Online →
An editorial highlights the contradiction between Ghana's green finance initiatives—including Green Bond Guidelines and carbon trading agreements—and the environmental damage from illegal mining, which has destroyed almost 9,000 hectares of forest reserves, polluted over 60 percent of water bodies, and created dangerous tunnels beneath homes.
18 June 2026 · Business & Financial Times →
Speakers at Ghana's Environmental Sustainability Summit 2026 warned that illegal mining and environmental degradation could undermine the country's green finance agenda and carbon market frameworks. Experts argued that businesses must prioritize environmental sustainability as core business strategy rather than charity, citing Ghana's estimated two percent annual deforestation rate.
17 June 2026 · Business & Financial Times →
The Ashanti Regional Branch of the Ghana Journalists Association organised a capacity-building programme to strengthen journalists' competencies in environmental reporting and personal safety, with support from Reporters Without Borders (RSF Germany). The training, aligned with World Environment Day, aimed to equip journalists with skills to raise awareness about global warming, deforestation, and pollution while promoting sustainable development.
8 June 2026 · The Chronicle →
The Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana Journalists Association is partnering with Reporters Without Borders Germany to equip journalists with skills for safer environmental reporting, particularly on mining and illegal small-scale mining issues, as part of World Environment Day 2026 observance.
3 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Ghana's National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat conducted an intelligence-led operation at a galamsey site in Oseikokrom, Amansie West District, on 21 May 2026, resulting in the arrest of eight illegal miners: one Chinese national and seven Ghanaians. The Chinese national was referred to the Ghana Immigration Service while the seven Ghanaians were handed to police for investigation and prosecution.
22 May 2026 · The Chronicle →