Newmont Suspends Ghana Operations After Six Killed in Accident

(Bloomberg) -- Newmont Mining Corp. suspended operations at its two gold mines in Ghana after six construction workers died in an accident.

The workers of a contractor died after a tunnel roof collapsed on Saturday at the Ahafo operation in central Ghana, the world’s biggest gold miner by value said in a statement on its website on Sunday. Two others were injured.

Operations at Newmont’s Akyem mine in southeast Ghana are also suspended “in solidarity” with staff at the Ahafo asset, Yaw Okyere, acting general manager for Ahafo, said Monday on Accra-based Joy FM. “The area will remain closed until an investigation is concluded,” he said.

The mines in Ghana accounted for 14 percent of Newmont’s revenue in the year through December, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The country is the continent’s largest gold producer after South Africa.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ekow Dontoh in Accra at edontoh@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andre Janse van Vuuren at ajansevanvuu@bloomberg.net, Nicholas Larkin

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