The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has cautioned communities in opposition to coming into deserted and inactive mine websites.  

It stated unauthorised access posed serious dangers, together with underground collapses and publicity to poisonous air. 

The Director of Mining on the EPA, Michael Sandow Ali, gave the warning at a three-day coaching for editors and journalists on inexperienced mining and accountable reporting at Peduase within the Eastern Region.

He stated many neighborhood participants entered deserted mines searching for high-grade ore however have been ignorant of the hazards underneath the skin.  

Mr Ali defined that during a number of deserted underground mines, key enhance buildings referred to as pillars have been deliberately left to carry the rock mass in combination. 

He stated unlawful miners steadily got rid of the ones pillars and changed them with makeshift wood props, a tradition identified in mining as “robbing the pillars.”  

“When those wood buildings get soaked by way of water underground, they rot and cave in.

“That is when you have ground collapse, because once the pillar fails, the entire section of the mine can cave in,” he stated.  

Mr Ali stated past structural disasters, unauthorised access additionally broken crucial air flow techniques, exposing intruders and staff in within sight criminal concessions to unsafe air.  

“Once they break openings into an abandoned mine, the ventilation system in a legitimate mine nearby begins to leak,” he stated, including: “Your workers will not get fresh air to breathe, and no mine can operate safely under such conditions.”  

Mr. Ali stated that some intruders have been former mineworkers who knew the place high-grade ore was once positioned and intentionally focused the ones zones, expanding the possibility of injuries.  

The coaching, organised by way of the Ghana News Agency in partnership with the Association of China-Ghana Mining, introduced in combination newshounds to enhance their working out of inexperienced mining requirements, environmental regulations, and the hazards related to unsafe mining practices.  

In his presentation, Mr Ali defined Ghana’s mineral assets, key environmental rules, and the EPA’s tracking equipment, starting from commercial space inspections to drones and satellite tv for pc imagery. 

He stated accountable mining required adherence to environmental growth, waste dealing with, water high quality coverage, reclamation, and clear neighborhood engagement.  

“Environmental management is a shared responsibility. When communities understand the dangers and the laws, they are better able to protect themselves and the environment,” he stated.  

The workshop seeks to enhance the power of newshounds to file on mining problems with intensity, competence, and stability, whilst bridging the information hole between newshounds, regulators, environmental professionals and business creation actors.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by way of Readers and Contributors in this platform don’t essentially constitute the perspectives or coverage of Multimedia Group Limited.