More Than 70 Illegal Miners Arrested In Relation To AngloGold Mine Shaft Saga

Police in Ghana have apprehended eighty-six illegal miners who entered the underground area of the Obuasi Mine, owned by AngloGold Ashanti.

As they emerged from one of the mine's main shafts, the police and security personnel of Ghana's largest gold mining company swiftly apprehended them.

The suspects are currently being prepared for court while in police custody.

According to reports, the unauthorized miners accessed the subterranean region through unauthorized routes. The mining company had blocked these exits, forcing the miners to use the main shaft. Three individuals evaded apprehension, but the remaining individuals chose to remain underground and reported being trapped.

This incident created tension in the gold-mining hamlet of Obuasi, prompting relatives of the suspects to organize a demonstration. After protesters clashed with soldiers, heavily armed police and soldiers fired shots to disperse the gathering as part of the assault on illegal miners.

Hundreds of additional miners were subsequently reported to be trapped underground. Initially, 38 laborers escaped the mine prior to their capture. On Monday, May 29, 2023, seven unauthorized miners were apprehended after emerging from a shaft. The next day, the management of the Obuasi Mine responded, denying that anyone was imprisoned and claiming that those still underground feared prosecution and were reluctant to emerge.

The mining company AngloGold stated in a statement that "unauthorized persons can exit underground." The company stressed that no one was trapped underground and that the mine's primary evacuation ramp was still accessible.

Relatives of the illegal miners refuted this claim, stating that the miners had been stranded for several days without food or water. Dozens of illegally operating fugitives in the region were apprehended.

On Thursday morning, June 1, 2023, all those who were believed to have been trapped underground escaped, resulting in the arrest of 86 individuals who were subsequently detained by the authorities.

Authorities expressed concern that new individuals continued to penetrate the underground area despite this incident.

The issue of unauthorized miners infiltrating the subsurface of the 126-year-old Obuasi Mine has been a recurrent concern for the mining company over the years.