The Minerals Commission has said a
team of technical mines-experts has been commissioned to embark on an immediate
investigation into the Newmont Ahafo mine accident that occurred over the
weekend.
An official at the Commission in a
telephone interview with B&FT said the investigation will be a purely
technical accident investigation, after which the report when completed will be
handed over to the minister for decision-making.
“Once the accident area is secured
and protected, the investigation will be immediate so that evidence doesn’t get
out of hand. Our guys even got there on the Saturday night; they were there
until the last person was removed on Sunday, so they have been there since. The
place has been secured,” the official said.
A
statement from Newmont Ahafo copied to the B&FT said: “Newmont Ghana is
deeply saddened to report a fatal accident on 7 April, following the collapse
of the reclaim tunnel roof at its Ahafo Mill Expansion project. Relevant
authorities have been notified and the company is cooperating with the police in
their investigations”.
The
statement explained that six fatalities have been confirmed. Two others were
treated at the clinic and discharged. The workers were all contractor-employees
with Consar Limited, a construction services company.
Mr. Alwyn
Pretorius, Regional Senior Vice President of Newmont’s Africa Operations,
indicated that: “The entire Newmont family is devastated by this tragic
accident, and our priority is to provide support to the families, friends and
co-workers of the deceased”.
Operations
have been suspended and Newmont Ghana is notifying families
of the deceased. All other employees working in the area have been safely
relocated and accident-site has been secured. The police are on site and the
appropriate government and regulatory agencies have been notified, including
the Inspectorate Division of the Minerals Commission.
Meanwhile, B&FT has gathered that
Newmont has temporarily shut down all its mining operation sites in the
country, due to the fatal accident at its Ahafo Mine site.
The mining firm is expected to resume operations after investigations are concluded.
“In terms of restart, we will not restart…until we ensure that all areas have been re-assessed,” Acting General Manager at the Ahafo Mines, Yaw Okyere Ntroso said.
“Our sister-company in Akyem has also stopped operation in solidarity with us, until we resume when the place is safe,” he stated.
The development could have some serious implications on the company going forward - in terms of impact on its revenue, looking at the volume of gold ounces produced in a day.
The mining firm is expected to resume operations after investigations are concluded.
“In terms of restart, we will not restart…until we ensure that all areas have been re-assessed,” Acting General Manager at the Ahafo Mines, Yaw Okyere Ntroso said.
“Our sister-company in Akyem has also stopped operation in solidarity with us, until we resume when the place is safe,” he stated.
The development could have some serious implications on the company going forward - in terms of impact on its revenue, looking at the volume of gold ounces produced in a day.
Newmont, which commenced operation in
Ghana in 2006 currently, operates two main mining sites at Akyem and Ahafo in
the Eastern and Brong Ahafo Regions respectively.
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