Talensi mining firm Earl Group sacks worker filmed assaulting suspected illegal miners

A gold mining company operating in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region has dismissed one of its workers after a video circulated showing him physically assaulting people the company says were illegal miners caught inside its underground workings.

Earl International Group (GH) Gold Limited announced the dismissal in a statement from its Corporate Affairs department dated Tuesday, 27 October 2026, according to A1 Radio in Bolgatanga.

The company said its preliminary investigations found that the people seen in the video were not its employees. It described them as suspected illegal miners who had been apprehended after allegedly entering its underground mining area without authorisation.

Earl International said that opposing illegal mining could never justify assault, physical abuse or any other unlawful treatment of suspects, and described the worker’s conduct as unacceptable and against its values. The worker was identified and dismissed with immediate effect, and the company said further disciplinary steps had been taken under its internal procedures.

The firm also pledged to cooperate fully with the relevant authorities in any investigation and expressed regret over the incident.

The statement, as reported, did not say exactly when the incident took place, how many people were assaulted or whether anyone was injured. It also did not say whether the matter has been reported to the police. TheSavannaOnline has not independently viewed the video.

Background

The company has for years complained about intrusions by illegal miners into its concession. In July 2024, it told the Ghana News Agency that more than 30 people had entered its underground areas through pits dug within the concession, and that five of its security guards were injured when intruders attacked them. It said at the time that about 50 people had once been found hiding underground shortly before a scheduled blast.

Talensi is one of the Upper East Region’s main gold mining areas, and friction between licensed operators and small-scale miners is a recurring concern there. Earlier this month, police and soldiers arrested 16 people in a joint security operation at the Gbane mining site, also in the Talensi District.

Source: A1 Radio — https://www.a1radioonline.com/84490/earl-group-dismisses-worker-over-assault-of-alleged-illegal-miners/index.html