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A Vancouver-based gold mining company has reported the deaths of two contractors during operations in the West African country of Ghana.
On Friday, Galiano Gold released a statement announcing that the two workers had died a day earlier in an unspecified “incident” near the tailings storage facility at the Asanko Gold Mine.
“On behalf of Galiano Gold, we offer our sincerest condolences to the families, friends and co-workers of our two colleagues,” the company’s president and CEO, Matt Badylak, said in a statement.
The company said both contractors died at the scene.
Krista Muhr, investor relations counsel for Galiano Gold, said she could not share more information about the incident pending an investigation.
Galiano Gold said it had notified the authorities in Ghana. The last reported death at the mine was in 2015 when a contractor died.
Rodrigue Turgeon, co-lead for Canada’s national program for industry watchdog Mining Watch Canada, called for an independent investigation into what happened.
“While we still know little about the human causes of the disaster, it is unfortunate that the ‘Zero Harm’ precautions taken by other Canadian mining companies abroad are not sufficient to ensure the safety of all workers,” said Turgeon in a written statement.
“Canada must take responsibility for the impact of mining companies operating overseas. Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the contractors who have died.”
The Asanko mine is managed and operated by Galiano Gold in a joint venture with the South African company Gold Fields Ltd.
According to Galiano Gold, about 2,600 people work in the mine, of which 99 percent are Ghanaians.
The company was named mining company of the year in December by the Ghanaian government.
CBC News has reached out to the Minerals Commission of Ghana for comment.
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