IDUAPRIEM MINE REFUTES STORY (PAGE 3)

THE Community Relations Manager of Anglogold Ashanti (Iduapriem Mine), Mr Kwamina Sekyi Yorke, has refuted the story that some illegal gold operators have been trapped underground in the company’s concession at Teberebe in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem municipality in the Western Region.
He explained to the Daily Graphic that there were illegal mining activities inside the company’s concession along the Teberebe road.
He said the company discovered a huge open trench very close to the Teberebe road and management called leaders of the illegal gold miners and told them about the dangers their activities were posing to the road.
Mr Yorke explained that the illegal activities were destroying the environment and also the gold diggers were encroaching on the company’s mining concession or property.
He said the illegal miners begged the company to give them some time to enable them to mop up, so they were given two weeks, after which the company would seal the trench.
Mr Yorke said the company had already notified the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Assembly about the activities of the illegal miners in its concession.
“So yesterday morning our security guards went there in an attempt to seal the trench to prevent possible erosion that may destroy the road eventually,” he said.
He said according to the security chief of the company, the illegal miners told the guards that there were some of their colleagues trapped underground.
He said as a result, the security guards stopped their operation to cover the huge trench.
Mr Yorke said the galamsey operators invited some opinion leaders from Akyem and other mining communities to plead on their behalf.
He said in 2006, the road was destroyed through illegal gold mining activities and the company spent thousands of dollars to repair it.