Ministry asks Shaanxi Mining Ghana to temporarily suspend operations
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has temporarily suspended the operations of Shaanxi Mining Ghana Limited at Gbane in the Talensi district of the Upper East Region.
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As a result of that the company has asked its 500 workers to go home to enable it comply with the directive which it received in the form of a letter on Tuesday.
The company is into prospecting and mining, as well as drilling and blasting support services to permitted companies.
Portions of the letter dated April 24th 2017, signed by the Sector Minister, Mr.John Peter Amewu and copied to the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission in Accra stated that the sector minister "has received reports that your mining operations at Gbane in the Talensi district of the Upper East Region have allegedly caused the death of some people in that area. It has been reported that this is not the first time such an incident has occurred in your mine and this cannot be allowed to continue.”
The directive, according to the letter was also to enable "thorough investigations to be conducted into the matter and that "the suspension shall remain in force until investigations are completed and the approppriate decisions taken by me".
Angry workers
Workers of the company were not happy at the decision describing it as "unfair and giving undue advantage to the illegal miners to continue their illegal mining activities".
Some of the workers who are from Tarkwa in the Western Region, Kumasi and Obuasi in the Ashanti Region wondered why their outfit which was licensed to operate would be given such a directive.
They equally expressed regret that the suspension would have a ripple effect on their immediate families and other dependants.
They also pointed out that if the issue was not handled properly, it would result in increased crime and other social vices while giving the opportunity to the residents engaged in galamsey to deplete the natural resources in the area illegally.
They alleged that it was rather those engaged in "galamsey" who have been straying into the concessions meant for Shaanxi and blasting unprofessionally thereby causing their own deaths.
Management response
At a press conference held within the premises of the company after the workers were told of the new directive,the Human Resource Manager of the company, Mr.Joseph Anokye was of the view that it was not the operations of the company that resulted in the recent deaths of seven people in the area but it was due to the activities of the illegal miners.
He said they usually strayed into the mining concessions of the company unknowing to the management.
According to him, management of the company had written several letters to the various regulatory bodies including Minerals Commission and the police administration to help nip in the bud illegal mining in the area but to no avail.
Mr. Anokye expressed regret that some of the illegal miners wielded offensive weapons like knives making it difficult for the company staff to help combat the menace.
The Underground Mine Manager, Mr.Thomas Yenzanya pointed out that the day they learnt that seven people died the company had successfully carried out its blasting without any problem and all their staff were safe because safety measures were taken into consideration before the blasting.
"We have 18 professional and experienced blastmen who know the blasting procedures;these blastmen had worked in places like Anglo Gold Ghana before they joined the Shaanxi Mining Company" he intimated.
Mr.Yenzanya noted that it would therefore be unfair for anyone to suggest that his outfit was responsible for the deaths that had been occurring in the area.
In any case, he contended those who died had also strayed into the operational areas of Shaanxi and they were not known by Shaanxi company and how they inhaled gaseous substances was also unknown to the company.
Reaction to residents concerns
The Legal Adviser to the Company, Mr.Rockson Akugre showed media practitioners all the legal documents acquired by the company giving it the legal backing to operate on its mining concession at Gbane.
The Shaanxi managers also stated that as of March 2017, the company had paid over GH¢17,000 as SSNIT contributions on behalf of their workers.
They dismissed claims that the company had failed to pay taxes and stated that all receipts in that respect was in the possession of the company.
Apart from that they indicated that it was not true as suggested by the Concerned Citizens of Talensi (CCT) that the company paid workers GH¢250 when infact, the company had instituted the payment of bonuses to its workers as some of the incentives to motivate workers.
Touching on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the company mentioned the completion of a new nine unit classroom block, the construction of a $1million bridge to link Kejetia and Tarkwa areas in the Talensi district, construction of 10 boreholes, donations to support both the annual farmers day celebrations and festivals in the district as some of its CSR it had carried out in the area.
Background
The Shaanxi Mining Ghana Limited started operating in 2010 and employs 552 people out of which 413 were employed from the catchment area of the company.
However there has been concerns over the years about its safety standards and disagreements with some groups of people who see their activities and presence in their operational area as a bad thing.
A few weeks ago, seven people were confirmed dead at Gbane in the Talensi district of the Upper East Region when the pit in which they were said to be illegally mining caved in on them.
The pit caved in on them reportedly as a result of a mine blast but it was unclear who caused the blast as both those in the community and the Shaanxi company have been engaged in accusations and counter accusations.
Investigations are however ongoing by the police to determine the cause of this latest incident.