A mining consultant has blamed weak safety systems, poor ground conditions and the absence of regulated mine planning for the deadly shaft collapse at Tontokrom, saying the tragedy was “technically preventable” under proper mining standards.
Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Tuesday (3 March), Wisdom Gomashie said illegal operators often dig in unstable, waterlogged soils without reinforcing tunnels or separating excavation from processing areas — conditions that make collapse almost inevitable.
“In every mining operation, safety is the underlying parameter. If it is not safe, it must not be done,” he said.
Gomashie explained that unlike regulated underground mines — such as those operated in Obuasi — where shafts are reinforced with concrete and wire mesh, illegal miners excavate without structural support.
He added that Tontokrom’s largely alluvial terrain, which consists mainly of clay, worsens the danger.
“Clay is already unconsolidated. When you add large volumes of water used in gold washing, the ground becomes weaker. It’s like adding water to gari — everything turns soft and collapses,” he said.
According to him, many illegal sites combine mining, washing and waste disposal in the same location, allowing water to seep back into pits and destabilise the walls.
“You may see a surface that looks dry, but a few feet down it’s completely loose,” he noted.
Safety systems absent
Gomashie said regulated small-scale mines are required to submit detailed mine plans before receiving permits from the Minerals Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency Ghana.
These plans must designate separate areas for excavation, processing and tailings, and include water recirculation dams to prevent flooding.
“In illegal operations, everything happens at one spot. Health, safety and technical rules are already compromised,” he said.
He argued that enforcement failures, not just miner behaviour, lie at the heart of repeated accidents, urging stronger oversight and clearer accountability from regulators.
Calls for reforms
The consultant proposed expanding cooperative mining schemes, promoting safer underground hard-rock mining and funding geological surveys to reduce the “trial-and-error digging” common among informal miners.
He also backed continued seizure and destruction of excavators used in illegal operations and called for localised policing.
“You cannot fight illegal mining from Accra alone. Every district police command must enforce the law on the ground,” he said.
Without reforms and consistent enforcement, Gomashie warned, collapses and fatalities will persist.
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