Five persons have been arrested for unlawful entry and the pilfering of gold ore in the underground mine area of Earl International Group Gold Ghana Limited.
The suspects have been granted police inquiry bail, pending further investigation and prosecution.
The five were part of a group of over 50 illegal miners who descended into the company’s underground area at night on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, through illegal access pits they had constructed in an obscure area within the mining concession.
Despite efforts to address the issue of unauthorized entry into the underground drives of the mine, the brazen actions of the unauthorized persons continue to pose a significant danger to their lives and disrupt the company’s operations.
“We have repeatedly sealed these illegal pits, only for them to be reopened or new ones dug in obscure locations. Recently, these illegal miners have become even more brazen, descending into our underground area immediately after blasts or hiding in cross-cuts or stopes before blasts to pilfer ore,” said Ebenezer Bognaab, Earl’s Public Relations Officer, in a letter addressed to the Alliance for Gbane Development, a youth association.
The decision to formally inform the association was largely meant to seek their support in sensitizing the youth to desist from such actions, among other efforts aimed at mitigating the problem.
“On the night of Wednesday, June 26, 2024, the diligence of our blast man at Shaft 2 Level 2 averted a potential disaster when approximately 50 people were found hiding underground just before a blast was scheduled to occur. On separate occasions, they have cut cables connected by blast men, causing blast failures,” he disclosed.
Source: PR Unit
