One Person is reported dead at Manso Fahiakobo, a community in the Amansie South District in the Ashanti Region after a mining pit caved in over the weekend.
“The deceased, Kofi Ahenaku together with other persons were engaged in mining illegally when the pit collapsed,” Edward Oduro Nsiah, the district NADMO Director, confirmed in an interview with Citi News.
He has been sent to the Agoroyesum St. Martins Hospital Mortuary while four other persons are currently under investigations after receiving treatment at the Keniago Health Centre.
Mining activities form an integral part in the economic development of any country endowed with mineral resources.
This is due to the revenue generated from it, the employment opportunities it creates for the citizens and the foreign exchange.
However, illegal mining activities also known as ‘galamsey’ have become rampant in most of these communities causing them to suffer from pollution, land degradation, deforestation, high cost of living, poverty and lack of basic needs.
Whereas many attribute this to the activities of legitimate companies, others point fingers to illegal miners (galamsey operators).
War against illegal mining
Despite the war against the practice, there is still widespread rumours that illegal small scale mining is still ongoing with possible support from local authorities.
Incidents of the collapse of mining pits are however quite rare although there are reports that such incidents especially those involving foreign illegal small-scale miners are hardly made public because they have no close relations to take up the matter.
Five out of the six illegal miners who died when a pit they were working in collapsed at Atansi-Manso in the Mpohor District of the Western Region earlier in September were subsequently identified.
