A member of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), last Wednesday died when their vehicle was involved in an accident in Obuasi in the Ashanti Region.
The deceased military officer, who is yet to be identified, was among the NAIMOS team that undertook an operation at a legally acquired concession in Nyankyerem, which had been taken over by some illegal miners.
Four other military officers, who sustained various injuries, are receiving treatment at the Anglogold Obuasi Hospital after referral from the Obuasi Government Hospital.
Eyewitnesses said the team’s vehicle crashed and somersaulted in an area between the Nyankyerem community and the Obuasi Airport Road.
Concession
The concession in question, which belongs to Mining and Construction Services Limited, a licensed small-scale mining firm in Obuasi, had been the subject of dispute after some illegal miners invaded the area to take over the mine after chasing out the firm’s workers on the site.
The Managing Director of Mining and Construction Services Limited (MCS), Andy Augustus A. Amoah, earlier appealed to the government for urgent intervention following the invasion of the company’s concession by illegal miners.
He said the galamsayers stormed the firm’s concession in the Obuasi West municipality, drove away workers undertaking exploration activities, and warned them never to return.
Mr Amoah said that despite showing his operating licence issued in 2020 by the Minerals Commission and other relevant agencies, the miners ignored the documents and took over the concession.
He said the concession, covering 248.21 acres, was part of an area surrendered to the government by Anglogold Ashanti (AGA) and later granted to MCS. The areas under the concession include Nyankyerem, Akatakyieso, Amamon and Adaase.
Appeal
Mr Amoah, who was speaking during an engagement with a section of the media, appealed for immediate government intervention to enable the company to access its concession.
“All the preparatory works have been done, awaiting the actual construction of the processing plant and other relevant facilities,” he said.
Mr Amoah revealed that the company had secured a $168 million investment to produce 100,000 ounces of gold annually over the 13-year life span of the mine.
He added that as part of MCS’s corporate social responsibility, “we have resolved to channel $2 of every ounce of gold into a trust fund for the development of the communities within our operational areas”,
