Mining firm, Newmont Gold Ghana Limited, has shut down all its mining operations in Ghana temporarily, after tragedy hits its Ahafo mine over the weekend.

According to the mining firm, it would only resume operations after investigations are concluded.

“In terms of restart, we will not restart…until we ensure that all areas have been re-assessed,” Acting General Manager at the Ahafo Mines, Yaw Okyere Ntroso told Joy News.

“…our sister company in Akyem has also stopped operation…in solidarity with us, until we resume when the place is safe,” he added.

The development could have some serious implications on the company going forward in terms of impact on its revenue, looking at the volume of gold ounces produced in a day.

The Mining Inspectorate Division of the Minerals Commission, has begun investigations to establish the cause of the accident.

Some have attributed this accident to more of lack of proper regulation of the sector by the relevant agencies.

This is coming after a separate incident at mining firm Golden Star Resource earlier this year.

Lands and Natural Resources Minister, John Peter Amewu however, disagrees. He says safety is held in high esteem by Ghanaian mining companies.

John Peter Amewu

“Ghanaian mining sites we know take mining very very seriously. If you have an opportunity to visit the mine, the kind of safety mechanism they deploy will tell you how serious they are about safety, especially this company [Newmont]," he reiterated.

The Minister added that the situation was an “unfortunate” one and will be investigated.

Meanwhile, Newmont has dispelled claims from relatives of the demised contract staff that, it had knowledge of structural defects at the facility which eventually led to the death of the six workers.