Cocoa farms in the Kwaebiberem district have been left with large pits by illegal small-scale miners.

Residents said unknown persons came from outside the community to prospect and eventually destroy the land with their illegal mining activities.

Some of the pits in the area had been left for up to eight years.

Despite the government’s rhetoric in the fight against illegal mining, illegal miners were still at work in this particular district.

There were excavators seen clearing trees to allow for the mining of gold.

The illegal mining has also resulted in a river in the district, the River Pram, being diverted and heavily polluted.

The river was the main source of drinking water for many residents in the district.

“Now that this water is no more, their cry is how to get water for their household chores,” a resident said to Citi News.

Residents said mining has also been taking place in the River Pram to devastating effect.

“Since that is a great river, that is where the miners believe they can get numerous gold, so they always try as much as possible to mine inside the river.”

The illegal miners had also desecrated an area of the forest the indigenes considered sacred.

“Since the water is being contaminated, it is their belief that there is no spirit in the water again. The mining activities have created this mess and the gods are no longer living in the water again,” a resident said.