By ACCRA, Ghana, Jan 19 (AfrikTimes) – A Ghanaian small-scale miners’ association said on Sunday that soldiers killed nine unarmed people at an AngloGold Ashanti mine on Saturday night. However, the army reported that seven illegal miners were killed in a firefight.
Kofi Adams, local chairman of the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners, told reporters that nine people were killed and fourteen others severely injured during the incident at the Obuasi gold mining site in the West African country’s Ashanti Region. According to Adams, the victims were unarmed.
AngloGold Ashanti’s main sulphide treatment plant is seen in Obuasi June 24, 2008.
Earlier, Ghana’s armed forces said that about 60 illegal miners, armed with locally manufactured rifles and other weapons, breached the mine’s security fence at around 11:00 PM (2300 GMT) on Saturday and fired on a military patrol stationed there, leading to a shootout.
“This is unprecedented, and it’s difficult to understand why this happened,” Adams said, noting that in the past, trespassers on the site were typically scared off with warning shots.
A deadly clash at Ghana’s AngloGold Ashanti mine leaves nine dead and 14 injured after illegal miners breached security.
Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama has ordered an immediate investigation into the incident, describing it as “tragic,” according to a statement released by the presidency on Sunday. The statement also noted that the government had requested AngloGold Ashanti to bear the medical expenses of the injured and the cost of the burials.
AngloGold Ashanti could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Johannesburg-listed mining company owns the Iduapriem and Obuasi mines in southern Ghana, which together produced over 490,000 ounces of gold last year.
The value of Ghana’s gold export receipts for 2022 alone is estimated to be US$ 6.6 billion.
