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The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, has called for collaboration with the Ghana Chamber of Mines to help create sanity in the mining industry and deal with the canker of illegal mining. He said the activities of the illegal miners� strike at the heart of the country had dire consequences for the critical areas of the citizens� lives, especially the unguided destruction of forest and sources of water. The Minister, who was speaking during a courtesy call by members of the Chamber, said it was important that Ghanaians begin to identify those who tacitly support the illegal activities of the miners for them to be punished accordingly. �We must begin to lift the veil to see the people working in concert with the illegal miners,� he said, adding that the security agencies needed to be empowered to seize and confiscate the equipment being used in the illegal activities. The Minister said while the fight against the illegal miners would not be easy, it was necessary to fashion out a comprehensive and coordinated approach to ensure that the practice was nipped in the bud. Alhaji Fuseini said as long as a framework had been provided for Ghanaians to take opportunities to engage in meaningful small-scale mining by registering anything contrary to that would be dealt with. He said it was totally unacceptable for non-Ghanaians who were not permitted to engage in small-scale mining to be engaged in those activities. Dr Toni Aubynn, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, said mining contributes over 28 per cent of the country�s revenue and pledged support to work with the Minister to ensure that mining becomes meaningful to Ghanaians. He said the Chamber of Mines was not opposed to the idea of Ghanaians participating in small scale mining as prescribed by the law but said the foreigners engaged in the practice must be dealt with by the law as they infringed on the country�s sovereignty.