Ghana Sends in Army to Enforce Mining Ban Near Rivers, Lakes

ACCRA, GHANA - Ghana's military has launched a nationwide operation to clear illegal miners out of its water bodies, the West African country's lands minister said Wednesday.

Two hundred soldiers were deployed on Wednesday morning to lakes, rivers and waterways in the country's central and western regions to "remove all persons and logistics involved in mining," a statement said. Pollution from mining has contaminated water sources across the country with mercury and heavy metals, raising the costs of water treatment and limiting access to drinking water, according to Ghana's water utility agency. Ghana is one of Africa's largest gold producers, with gold products accounting for just under half its export revenues. Several of the world's top mining firms, including Newmont , Kinross, and Anglogold Ashanti, operate gold mines there.