A team of armed military and police personnel have been deployed to restore calm following the arrest of some 48 illegal miners who were trapped in a mine shaft belonging to AngloGold Ashanti in Obuasi.
The youth besieged the Obuasi police station to demand the release of their colleagues who were trapped in the shaft mine and later arrested.
Armed men with armoured vehicles are currently stationed at the police station.
They fire gunshots to disperse the angry youth who vowed not to return to their various homes until their colleagues are released.
According to some of the illegal miners, some of their colleagues are still trapped in the shaft, adding that they will return to the shaft to mine after the release of their colleagues as the mining is their source of income.
The miners reportedly entered the underground shaft in search of gold deposits but were unable to come out after all exit routes were closed.
AngloGold Ashanti in a statement on May 30, refuted claims that the 300 illegal miners trapped in one of the company’s mine shafts are confined and unable to exit.
It explained that the trapped miners have not been confined and can exit on foot via the existing ramp from the mine.
“Unauthorized persons underground are able to exit on foot, via 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. Obuasi Gold Mine’s management team has notified the relevant authorities and public security services and is working closely with them,” the mining firm said in its statement.
