The Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners (GNASSM) has reportedly claimed that nine people were killed and 14 others were severely injured in a confrontation with soldiers at AngloGold Ashanti’s Obuasi gold mine in Ghana.
According to the association’s local chairman Kofi Adams, the miners were unarmed when they were shot by military personnel.
The incident took place when approximately 60 illegal miners breached the mine’s security fence and allegedly opened fire on a military patrol deployed there.
However, the Ghanaian armed forces issued a different account, stating that seven miners were killed during a firefight.
They confirmed that the miners, armed with locally manufactured rifles and other weapons, initiated the attack, leading to a shootout with the soldiers.
The army’s report did not mention any unarmed miners being killed.
In response to the tragedy, Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama has ordered an immediate investigation into the incident at the Obuasi mining site, located in the Ashanti Region.
The presidency called the event “tragic” and directed AngloGold Ashanti to cover the medical expenses for the injured miners and the cost of burials for the deceased.
Located in the Ashanti region, about 60km south of Kumasi, the Obuasi gold mine is an underground operation mining to a depth of 1,500m.
Production at the Ghanaian gold mine started in 1897. The production at the Obuasi mine was halted in the final quarter of 2014.
The site features extensive infrastructure, including a 2.4 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) processing plant, flotation and bacterial oxidation facilities, and underground development.
Phase 3 of the redevelopment project began in 2019 and is currently ongoing.
AngloGold Ashanti has yet to comment on the incident.
The company, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, operates both the Obuasi and Iduapriem mines in Ghana, which collectively produced over 490,000 ounces of gold last year.
