A mining company using heavy machinery was prevented by a group of about 100 irate teenagers from Asato, a rural hamlet in the Kadjebi District of the Oti Region, from prospecting for the viability of iron ore in the Asato bloc.
Following the Ghana Geological Survey’s feasibility study, which revealed the enclave contains commercially significant iron ore reserves, the African Exploration Minerals Group is prospecting the area for minerals.
Wearing red bands and chanting war songs, the youth said they were not told that Iron Ore was being prospected in the Asato enclave and that they expected the Company to have fully involved them before any exploration was possible.
“The youth became incensed after realizing that some heavy-duty mining machines have been sneaked into the forest zone of Asato for the purposes of mining without community animation,” Asato Electoral Area Assemblyman Boakye Danquah Budu told the Ghana News Agency in an interview.
He claimed that the youth were enraged by this one deed and that this was the reason why the exploration had to end because the events leading up to the equipment’s entry were hidden.
When contacted by the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Osabarima Osei Bonsu V, Paramount Chief of the Asato Traditional region, stated that the youth’s assertion regarding the exploration and prospecting in the region “was not true” because there had been a community engagement in 2023.
The company is currently prospecting to determine the viability of the iron ore, with actual exploration set to start in two years. The Paramount Chief announced a meeting on July 11, 2024, to address the issue.
Superintendent of Police Frank Nana Asomaning led a police and military team to restore calm.
A Geological Survey found 55.22 percent weight and a higher grade of iron ore in five Kadjebi District communities: Asato, Wawaso, Gyamonome, Kosamba, and Ketepii.
