Mine worker trapped to death in gold ore
A 35-year-old worker of Shaanxi Mining Ghana Limited at Gbane in the Talensi District in the Upper East Region, Samuel Bang, lost his life when he got trapped in a stockpile of gold ore underneath a mining shaft last Monday.
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Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Public Relations Officer of the company, Mr Maxwell Wooma, said about 4.50 p.m. on Monday, January 18, 2016, he received a report from Bang’s colleague who was with Bang underground that the platform on which Bang was working had caved in and that he was trapped in a heap of gold ore.
Rescue mission
Mr Wooma said a rescue team was put in place which started working immediately and eventually retrieved Bang’s body at 3 p.m. the following day.
The body has since been deposited at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital morgue.
Mr Wooma described the incident as purely a mining accident and not a case of gas inhalation or someone failing to do some hazard assessment.
He said the company was yet to meet with Bang’s family and also find out about the burial and funeral arrangements.
Safety
Mr Wooma said the company was mindful of safety issues and had installed carbon detectors in its shafts to prevent gas inhalation.
In addition, he said, hazard assessment was carried out periodically, while the company had acquired a new ambulance to deal with emergencies.
He said since the incident happened, officials from the Inspectorate Division of the Minerals Commission had been there to assess the situation and would present their report and recommendations in due course.
Previous incidents
This is about the sixth time disaster has occurred since the company started operations in 2008.
In May 2013, three small-scale miners suspected to be intruders from another concession died when poisonous gas from a shaft belonging to Shaanxi Mining engulfed them, while in April 2014 two miners died from gas inhalation.
In October 2014, three miners lost their lives when a pit collapsed on them and in April 2015 two miners died, while eight were critically injured, from gas inhalation.
In 2015, 16 small-scale miners working for the company were rushed to the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital suspected of inhaling poisonous gas.