Tarkwa (W/R) Jan 23, GNA – The directive by Minerals Commission to halt operations at Maxam Ghana Limited as a result of the explosion that occurred at Appiatse in the Western Region will affect the mining industry.
Mr Stephen Asante Yamoah, Mine Manager of AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem Mine revealed this to journalists when Mr Isaac Mwinbelle, Western Regional Manager of Minerals Commission led a team to shut down the firm.
He explained that Maxam Ghana Limited supplied about 40 percent of the large scale operations in Ghana, and were currently working through the Minerals Commission and other explosive suppliers in the country to see how best they could close the gap during this period.
“As industry players, the enforcement of the regulation is necessary, though the order would have a far reaching consequence on the industry as far as production is concerned; we support it, we will work closely with the regulator and service providers to make sure that we reduce the impact of this directive to the barest minimum”.
Explaining more on Maxam Ghana Limited operations, Mr Yamoah said “we have kept them, on our mines for almost 30 years. We started this business together and we have been in partnership for all this while, so I have no reservations in terms of their performance”.
He stressed that “being a firm that aspires for excellence, we sometimes identify some shortcomings and fix them within the shortest possible time.
“That shows how as a service provider, they respond quickly to the issue of safety and compliance to the regulations so I have no reservations that they are good service providers” Mr Yamoah said.
He said the incident, which razed down the Appiatse community was quite unfortunate, but they will wait for the final outcome of the investigations and work on their shortcomings.
GNA