The Earl International Gold Limited, a mining company in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region, has partially suspended operations due to floods caused by illegal mining activities along the Oun River.

The Oun river is a tributary of the White Volta.

“Earl International Group Ghana Gold Limited regrets to announce that its operations have been partially suspended due to severe flooding caused by illegal mining activities along the Oun River,” a statement from the Public Relations Department, copied to the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga had said.

The statement explained that on the night of August 19, 2024, heavy rains caused water from the river to flood the underground mining area through illegal mining pits, some of which were illicitly connected to the workings of the mines.

It said the flooding “resulted in the submersion of equipment at Shaft 4, levels 6 and 7, with an estimated volume of 80,000 cubic meters (m³) of water, leading to the temporary displacement of close to 400 workers”.

The statement said that all employees on duty underground on the day of the incident were safely evacuated.

“This unfortunate development has brought huge losses to our company, with equipment worth millions of dollars damaged and significant production time lost.

“An assessment of the volume of floodwater currently in our underground mining area and our pumping capacity has revealed that it will take eight weeks to pump out the water and conduct a safety audit before resuming production,” the statement said.

The statement indicated that large volumes of water continued to flow through the illegal mining pits, which further exacerbated the situation.

“We call on the relevant authorities to take immediate action by bringing a closure to the existence and activities of illegal miners along the riverbank.

“This is key in preventing potential dangers and disaster to both the illegal miners and our workers and operations. We request urgent support to mitigate this situation and prevent future occurrences,” it added.  

The statement said the company would provide updates on the situation.