Several communities in Ghana’s Atiwa West district have condemned contractor operations linked to James Longshore’s Xtra-Gold mining company.
JoyNews reported residents as saying that several people have died over the past year in the region after falling into uncovered mining pits left behind by subcontractors.
Xtra-Gold is said to engage subcontractors services to mine in concessions, which have failed to keep mining sites safe after exploration.
Residents claim that Xtra-Gold’s activities have negatively impacted their lives as nearby water bodies and the environment in the immediate vicinity have been destroyed.
“My own niece fell into one of the pits and died just behind us. Panther and Xtra-Gold paid GH25,000 in compensation to the mother. That’s all. They didn’t cover the pit. So far, 3 people have died in the pit; my niece, one gentleman, and a Krobo man,” Elder Edward Boateng, a local village chief, said.
Moreover, water bodies in communities such as Akyem Akropong, Akyem Pameng, Akyem Awenare and Akyem Apampatia have been badly contaminated.
Former Assemblyman for the Pameng-Beposo Electoral Area Eugene Antwi-Atua said: “Some mining pits are still left uncovered in this community. But the miners are respecting the ban on mining in forest reserves. No excavator has been left to mine in the Atiwa forest in Pameng. I will commend them for that. With regards to the destruction of streams, they usually divert the course of the streams to allow farmers to use them.”
Longshore is the co-founder and CEO of Xtra-Gold and has been the managing director of its subsidiaries Xtra-Gold Mining Ltd. and Xtra-Gold Exploration Limited in Ghana since 2009. He has been present in Atiwa West since 2006 and owns five mining leases, including the Banso and Pameng concessions.
According to Xtra-Gold, Longshore oversees the company’s mining project and exploration activities.
