AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem Mine under the auspices of the Minerals Commission and the Ghana Chamber of Mines has hosted the 2013 National First Aid and Safety Competition at Tebrebe in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality of the Western Region.

The celebration, under the theme “Safety is life”, aimed at creating awareness on the importance of safe practices and effective emergency responses in promoting safety and well-being of people within the mining industry.

Ghana Bauxite Company, AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem Mine, Gold Fields Ghana Limited, Tarkwa and Aboso Mines as well as their host community teams participated in the first aid administration and medical emergency response competition.

The annual event seeks to draw the attention of industry players and stakeholders on the need to practice safety at all times.

Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, in an address read for him noted that safety is a key requirement in the extractive industry, which must be adhered to given the risky nature of operations.

He said the ministry will roll out an intensive safety campaign to complement the efforts of the mining companies to ensure incidents in the industry are reduced to the barest minimum.

He encouraged mining companies to ensure that their employees and contractors observe safety at the work place to the fullest.

Mr. Sicelo Ntuli, the Managing Director of AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem Mine said the company is committed to ensuring that it continues to live up to its value of putting safety first in its operations and business decisions.

He said the company has put in place measures to ensure that employees comply with the best safety practices -- he appealed to other mining companies to make safety an essential requirement in their operations.

Mr. Alfred Ekow Gyan, Deputy Western Regional Minister, noted that the country’s most important assets are the human capital, and everything therefore needs to be safeguard.

“The Chamber of Mines and Industry should therefore be commended for striving to achieve the highest attainable health and safety standards,” he said.

He advised the mining companies to follow standards which conform to World Health Organisation and the Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, and carry out regular self-regulating environmental audits as well as use advanced technologies for environmental protection.

Also, he said the Chamber should ensure that safety-training programmes are provided for all members from time to time – “in this way we shall be conscious of the environment in which we operate and cannot afford to make mistakes, since this will be to our own peril”.