Fresh trouble between Shaanxi Mining Ghana Limited (SMGL) and the residents of Gbane in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region is brewing hot as the residents massed up to stop Shaanxi from encroaching and working outside it’s concession area.
Last Thursday, some residents led by a certain Zumah went to the District Minerals Commission in the Upper East to make a case against Shaanxi who were seen busily digging trenches with excavators outside Shaanxi’s own concession.
According to some of the residents who spoke to this reporter, they said, as law abiding citizens they went all the way to the District Minerals office to draw the attention of the Commission to the illegal encroachment by Shaanxi which appeared to be happening on their blind side.
They indicated that they met a certain Dickson, Head District Minerals Officer in charge of the three Northern Regions who agreed to go with them to ascertain or verify the residents’ allegation against Shaanxi. They said, when they got to the site Mr. Dickson was very furious about Shaanxi working outside their concession area and asked them to stop work and produce permit.
But, to their dismay, Shaanxi officials took Mr. Dickson to their office and when they came back, the Head District Minerals Officer told them that Shaanxi has promised to produce their permit and other documents so they can continue to work and produce those documents after the Easter break.
Whatever may have transpired between the Minerals Officer and Shaanxi in that office or for whatever motivation one cannot tell but curiously, it’s quite surprising how any organization or entity will proceed to work in an area without the notice of the supervisory body.
It is against this background and what they termed as “unfortunate development” on the part of the Minerals Officer that they have resolved and vowed to stop Shaanxi from operations on their own after the Easter break with every force they can marshal and don’t care what form it may take.
In a separate interview with Mr. Dickson who initially declined to speak on the matter but later called back to explain himself, he actually corroborated what they residents had said except to say that he actually stopped them from work and asked them to produce permit but he cannot tell if Shaanxi went back to work after he had left.
When the District Minerals Officer was asked the direct question of whether or not if he knew that Shaanxi was actually working outside their own 50acre concession area and actually going into Cassius Mining Company’s concession, Mr. Dickson, who is also a technical head said he cannot tell.
