Following the directive by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Western Regional Inspector of Mines has in accordance with an order from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Minerals Commission (MC) has shut down operations of Maxam Company Limited on Saturday, 22nd January 2022.
Mr Isaac K Mwimbelle, Western Regional Manager of the Minerals Commission who disclosed this during the closure of the company said it was necessary for the Commission to take drastic measures to forestall future happenings.
He indicated that the shutdown of the entity was to pave way for further investigations into the last Thursday’s explosion and mentioned that a final report will be forwarded to the Head Office of the Commission in Accra for onward submission to the sector Minister.
He further stated that the Commission has issued a prohibition notice to the company, barring it from undertaking any form of activity at the site.
“Based on the initial investigations that we are conducting, we find it prudent to evoke the law which states that if the inspector has any reason to believe some operation can result in further danger, then we should cause a cessation of the same”, he asserted.
“We went to Maxam and asked them to stop work whiles we continue the investigations and make necessary recommendations to the Chief Executive for onward submission to the sector Minister”, he hinted.
According to him, they issued what they called “Prohibition Notice” which meant that they were not allowed to hold any activity on the site and they were to remove equipment from the site for their own safety.
To ensure that the directive was enforced, Mr Mwimbelle stated that the Commission has deployed two members of staff to stay at the site.
Below is a Press Statement released by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources:
