Shama Explosion: Quarry firm to be sanctioned for operating without Minerals Commission licence

The Western Region Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah, says the company whose quarry site suffered explosion Saturday night was operating without licence.

As a result, he disclosed, the owners of the company will be brought to book for the deadly outcome of their activities, resulting in the explosion at Anto Aboso in the Shama District of the Western Region.

Mr Okyere Darko Mensah, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Takoradi, made this known on Sunday, September 10 when he visited the disaster site.

The explosion left at least eight persons including three Ghanaians and some Chinese nationals dead.

Several others, left injured, were sent to medical facilities in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis for treatment.

The quarry site is owned by STA-ADDSAMS Enterprise, formerly known as Omni Quarry.

“I believe we need to intensify all our safety and monitoring of all the sites that we have,” Mr Okyere Darko Mensah said.

“The other one was like gold but this one was a quarry. Irrespective of that, they are all mining sites and we need to look at our safety critically.

“My information is that the Minerals Commission has not gone through all the process with them. So now that we are doing our investigations, we should be able to catch up with the owners of the mine and then go forward and investigate and see what is happening with them.”