Source: newsthemegh.com
A gang of 86 unauthorized miners were detained by the police when they entered the Obuasi Mine in Ghana, which is owned by AngloGold Ashanti.
They were quickly apprehended by police officers and security guards from Ghana’s largest gold mining firm as they emerged from the ground through one of the main holes. The accused are being processed for court appearances while being held by the police.
The unlawful paths used by the illicit miners to enter the subsurface area are reported. The mining firm, however, had blocked these passageways, forcing the miners to leave via the main shaft.
Three people managed to escape captivity, while the others opted to stay hidden and raise the alarm by saying they were stuck underground.
The family members of the accused gathered and organized a protest as a result of the incident’s tension-creating effects in the gold-mining village of Obuasi.
In reaction to the demonstrators and troops fighting, heavily armed police and soldiers opened fire to scatter the gathering as part of the campaign against illegal miners.
Hundreds of additional miners were reportedly trapped beneath later on. 38 miners initially emerged, and they were subsequently detained. On Monday, May 29, 2023, seven unauthorized miners were caught when they emerged from a shaft.
The Obuasi Mine’s administration reacted the next day, denying that anyone was trapped and asserting that those still underground were unwilling to emerge out of fear of being arrested.
The mining corporation, AngloGold, confirmed in a statement that “unauthorized persons underground can exit.” The mine’s main evacuation ramp was still available, and the corporation underlined that nobody had been imprisoned underground.
The illegal miners’ relatives contested this assertion, claiming that they had been stranded for several days without food or water. Many of those who escaped were detained for operating illegally in the region.
All those who were allegedly trapped underground had emerged by Thursday morning, June 1, 2023, leading to the arrest of 86 people who were then taken into custody by the authorities.
Authorities were worried that new people continued to enter the underground location despite this occurrence.
Over the years, the 126-year-old Obuasi Mine has seen a recurrent issue with unauthorized miners sneaking into the underground.