News

Friday, March 11, 2016

 Alleged tragedy at Tarkwa, six Galamsey Miners Trapped
Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, Ghanadot

Accra, March 27, Ghanadot - Tragedy has hit Tarkwa, a gold mining community in the Western Region of Ghana, as about six ‘galamsey’ miners are reported trapped in a mining pit in the area.

According to eye witnesses claim officials of Anglogold Ashanti , a multinational gold mining company on whose concession the ‘galamsey’ operation was going on, deliberately sealed off the pit ignoring warnings there were people there.

Residents of the area and other ‘galamsey’ miners are making frantic efforts to rescue the trapped miners.

Another eyewitness, Mr. Kwame Eshun who claimed his brother was among the trapped miners intimated that the matter had been reported to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) to conduct investigations into the act.

He said there was, however, no action as yet from the security agencies.

According to him, efforts were being made to access an alternative route to try and rescue those trapped.

He denied their operational area forms part of Anglogold’sconcession.

“It is our land,” he declared.

However, the Public Affairs Director of Anglogold Ashanti in Tarkwa, Mr. Kwamena Sakyi Yorke denied any miners were trapped, arguing the company’s chief security had indicated nobody was trapped contrary to the reports.

He also disagreed with Eshun’s assertion that the area does not belong to Anglogold, stressing that the people were operating from the main access road to the company’s mining equipment. “They are trespassing and causing havoc in our concession,” he stated.

The Public Affairs Director indicated, a similar issue cropped up last year and the ‘galamsey’ miners were warned against mining in the area but they remained adamant.

Ghanadot