Minerals Commission discovers ammonium substances at Anto Aboso quarry enclave

The Shama District Security Council, together with the Minerals Commission, have discovered Ammonium substances in the Anto Aboso quarry enclave.

The place hosts about six quarry sites and brings to question the safety of both workers and communities in the district.

According to the Minerals Commission, such harmful substances could only be kept by companies with permits in a designated area called Magazine.

Mr. Ebenezer Dadzie, the Shama District Chief Executive told journalists at the site that intelligence led to the discovery last night of the ammonium substance buried in quarry dust in the said bushes.

He said, the safety of communities around and constant expression of fear by residents had become a matter of concern to the assembly, thus the need for the exercise to rid the community of such substances to avert any such human errors leading to accidents and preventable deaths.

The District Chief Executive Officer in this regard charged the communities to also play their civic roles by reporting any suspicious activities of operators in the area to city authorities for the necessary actions.

“We believe, as citizens, we should begin to be active in watching our communities and societies…when we see something, we should say something,” he said.

He added: “I am taking this opportunity to also advise all the quarries operating in the district to voluntarily hand over any such substances in their custody to the assembly for onward transfer to the Minerals Commission.”

The discovery of the Substances brings to light the regulatory inefficiencies, the shirking of civic responsibility to help nib wrongs in the bud as well as the public health implications of having such deadly explosives in storehouses of Quarry mining companies in the area.

It would be called that last Saturday there was an explosion at the Omni quarry site at Anto Aboso in the Shama district of the western region which left many injured with five deaths. Some Ghanaians and Chinese nationals were injured in the explosion which occurred at round 2230 hours on Saturday.