GOLDEN Star suspended production at its Prestea gold mine in Ghana today following a fatal accident at the mine on Wednesday (March 24).
The incident occurred in the main access drive on 17 level which is currently being developed. “Our employee was fatally injured when he became trapped in the drive as one of the ore carts on a locomotive derailed,” the company said in a statement.
The relevant authorities have been notified and there will be a full investigation to establish the exact causes of the accident. “As a sign of respect to our colleague we have suspended all activities underground at Prestea for today,” it said.
“The accident will be investigated fully and we will redouble our efforts to make sure that we prevent anything of this nature from happening in the future,” said Andrew Wray, CEO of Golden Star. “We will also provide support for all those impacted by this accident.”
Commenting on the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic last week, Golden Star said that whilst none of its employees had contracted the virus, it was working to “… mitigate the possibility of disruption at the mining operations”.
It had also rolled out an action plan aimed at limited the spread of the virus including travel bans, implementing self-isolation for employees who have travelled internationally, and improving hygiene levels in the company’s operations and offices.
Golden Star also operates the Wassa gold mine, located in Ghana.
