The Asanko Gold Ghana Ltd (Asanko), operators of the Asanko Gold Mine in the Ashanti Region, has condemned the murder of its contracted security personnel and a civilian by illegal miners at Tontokrom.
It has called for swift investigations to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The State Security Personnel during periodic patrols within the mining communities visited the Tontokrom Concession belonging to Asanko on Saturday, March 2, 2024.
A statement issued by management of the mining company on Monday said while the officials of the licensed private security service provider were patrolling the Tontokrom Concession, they were attacked by the illegal miners who were hiding in the bushes.
Upon seeing the illegal miners emerging from the bushes with various guns, clubs, machetes and other weapons, the security officers chose to retreat since they were unarmed.
Two of the private security officers and a civilian were captured and lynched to death by these illegal miners
Management of the mining company noted that over the years now, illegal miners, who are not residents at Tontokrom, have been encroaching on Asanko’s legally held concessions and that these illegal miners harass both the staff of Asanko and its contractors.
The activities of these illegal miners, Asanko noted, are erasing all the efforts that the government and its officers are putting in to make Ghana the premier mining investment destination in the world.
It, therefore, urged the security agencies to investigate the matter and bring the perpetrators to book and assured that Asanko Mines remains committed to the safety of its employees, contractors and community members.
