Vancouver’s Galiano Gold Inc. (TSX: GAU) (NYSE American: GAU) has reported two fatalities at its Asanko Gold Mine in West Africa.
On Monday, the company issued a statement saying the workers were killed near the site’s tailings storage facility but did not release the cause of death.
“At this time there is an investigation process underway and we will share further information as appropriate,” said the company’s Investor Relations Advisor Krista Muhr in a statement provided to Mugglehead.
“On behalf of Galiano Gold, we offer our sincerest condolences to the family, friends, and co-workers of our two colleagues,” said Matt Badylak, President and CEO of Galiano.
The Asanko project is a joint venture between Galiano and Gold Fields Ltd (JSE: GFI) (NYSE: GFI).
The site has been Galiano’s flagship asset since 2016 when the company declared commercial production there. The government of Ghana has a 10 per cent interest in the site as well.
Approximately 2,600 people are employed at the mine and 99 per cent of them are native to Ghana.
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Gold mining-related injuries and fatalities are unfortunately a regular occurrence globally. In October last year, a worker was killed at the Brucejack underground gold mine run by Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) (TSX: NCM) in northwestern British Columbia. Another employee was killed there in 2020 as well.
Other companies such as Alamos Gold Inc. (TSX: AGI) (NYSE: AGI) and South Africa’s Harmony Gold (JSE: HAR) have reported recent fatalities at their mining sites. Alamos reported a work-related death at its underground Young-Davidson mine in November and Harmony reported a fatality in mid-December last year.
In fact, Harmony Gold reported a staggering total of 13 fatalities in 2022 alone.
Working in certain countries with gold mining operations can be a risky endeavour even when the workers are not on site.
At the end of December last year, two employees working for B2Gold Corp. (TSX: BTO) (NYSE AMERICAN: BTG) (NSX: B2G) were killed in an off-site robbery incident while being transported from the company’s Fekola mine to Mali’s capital city, Bamako.
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According to a 2019 report from the journal BMC Public Health, the annual incidence of gold mining-related injuries in Ghana is very high. The study showed that 289 injuries were reported among 1,000 workers in the country between 2015-2016.
rowan@mugglehead.com
