Bolga: Small-Scale Miner Poloo Arrested by Special Police Operations Unit

A popular small-scale miner in Ghana’s Upper East Region, Zongdaan Boyak Kolog, popularly known as Poloo, has been arrested by the police.

A special operations unit of the Ghana Police Service, reportedly known as the Black Cobra, rounded up the miner on Wednesday afternoon following a series of disturbances in the Gbane mining area involving his mining firm, Nanlamtaaba Enterprise.

Sources within security circles say Poloo is likely to face prosecution for allegedly engaging in illegal mining, disturbing the peace of the area, and committing other offences.

A few days ago, exclusive underground CCTV footage surfaced online, showing armed men allegedly linked to Nanlamtaaba Enterprise storming the underground working areas of a large-scale mining company to seize and assault some private security guards. The police confirmed the incident and indicated that the matter was under investigation.

The incident is the latest development in an ongoing dispute with Earl International Group Ghana Gold Limited over a portion of a 16.02-square-kilometre concession leased to the large-scale mining company for a 14-year period.

Court records indicate that the Gbane mining area was designated exclusively for large-scale mining in 2016. Following the designation, Earl International was granted a mining lease in 2019.

However, Poloo obtained a five-year small-scale mining licence covering 25 acres, which reportedly falls within Earl International’s lease area. The licence expired on 14 May 2025. His lawyers argued that an application for renewal had been submitted, but the Minerals Commission said it had no record of such an application. It also emerged that the purported renewal application did not follow the prescribed procedures under the Minerals and Mining Act.

It has also been reported that Nanlamtaaba Enterprise does not hold a Mining Operating Permit issued by the Chief Inspector of Mines. The enterprise is also reportedly without an Environmental Permit and an Explosives Permit.

On 21 November 2025, the Bolgatanga High Court ordered the police to protect Nanlamtaaba Enterprise’s mining activities in the disputed concession. The court ruled that although the mining licence had expired, Poloo retained rights over the concession until the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources formally terminated them.

On 7 September, the Minerals Commission reportedly issued a notice directing the enterprise to cease operations and vacate the Gbane mining area. A few days after receiving the notice, the enterprise held a press conference and declared that it would disregard the directive and continue mining, citing a court order as justification.

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