A former Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Dr. Tony Aubyn has attributed the intrusion of AngloGold’s Obuasi mine by some illegal miners to unemployment and the worsening economic conditions of youth in the country.
The miners reportedly entered the underground shaft in search of gold deposits but were unable to come out after all exit routes to the shaft were closed.
Dr. Aubyn is therefore admonishing the government to take drastic measures to address unemployment to prevent the youth from taking such risks in search of livelihoods.
“Here lies the challenge of employment because if you look at the kind of risks these people take, it demonstrates that it is really a dire situation because people will not risk their lives going down there without any technical support. So for those who risk their lives to go there, it is wrong and dangerous, but it also indicates the challenge of the general economy where jobs are difficult to come by and livelihoods are very difficult to sustain.”
The police arrested 48 of the illegal miners following their emergence from the mine shaft a.
AngloGold in a statement said the miners were not trapped but could actually exit on foot and involved the security services.
“Unauthorized persons underground are able to exit on foot, using the existing ramp through the main access of this mining area. No person underground has been confined in any way, and the main exit ramp from the mine remains open,” the firm wrote in its statement on Tuesday, May 30.
