The Minerals Commission has officially shut down Maxam Company Limited in Tarkwa.
This follows a directive by the government ordering a suspension of the company’s license, following a huge explosion at Bogoso-Appiate on Thursday, January 20, 2022.
The explosion occurred after a motorcycle went under a truck carrying explosives owned by Maxam Limited.
The explosives were being transported to the Chirano gold mine, run by Toronto-based Kinross (K.TO).
Speaking after handing over the shutdown documents to the company’s Plant Manager, Emerald Takyi, the Western Regional Manager of the Commission, Isaac Mwinbellen said Maxam Limited cannot be blamed for any wrongdoing until investigations into the incident are completed.
“We have not completed investigations, and we cannot say that Maxam has gone wrong in any of this. We are still going through investigations. Remember that the Police are also doing their investigations on the spot.”
“Till we put all these pieces together and look at the requirements, then we will be able to tell who is culpable and who is not. But at this stage, we cannot tell who is culpable or not. We are still in the process of investigations. Until investigations are completed, we cannot say someone is culpable or not.”
To forestall a secondary explosion, the government has deployed a joint team of police and military explosion experts to examine the situation and put in place the requisite measures.
