Golden Star Resources has reported about two fatalities at its Prestea Underground Gold Mine in Ghana on December 29, 2017.
Initial investigations suggest that the two employees succumbed to smoke inhalation sickness following exposure to blasting gasses. Golden Star suspended operations at Prestea Underground to allow for the initial investigation of the incident, but the mine resumed full operation as of January 1, 2018. Mine management and the Inspector of Mines continue to conduct further investigations, said the company in a statement.
Sam Coetzer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Golden Star, commented: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of two of our colleagues. On behalf of us all at Golden Star, and particularly the close-knit team at Prestea, we extend our sincerest condolences to the individuals’ families and friends. Safety is our highest priority and we take great care in ensuring that all of our underground team members have self-rescuers and that they are trained to use them correctly. We are conducting further investigations to understand why this tragedy occurred and how to prevent it from happening again.”
Golden Star is a gold mining company that owns and operates the Wassa and Prestea mines situated on the prolific Ashanti Gold Belt in Ghana, West Africa.
