Workers with African Mining Services (AMS), one of the largest contract mining companies operating in Ghana’s Western Region, have reportedly suffered musculoskeletal disorders linked to their duties at the company’s Tarkwa operations, with affected staff’s travelling to Accra for specialist treatment and, in some cases, surgery.

AMS has operated in Ghana’s mining sector since 1991, providing contract mining services including drilling, blasting, haulage and mine development to major mining houses across the country’s gold belt. Its Tarkwa operations sit within one of the most intensive mining corridors in West Africa, an area long associated with heavy machinery use, repetitive manual tasks and prolonged exposure to whole-body vibration from haulage and drilling equipment.

According to sources familiar with the matter, affected AMS staff has had to seek specialist orthopedic care at the Accra Medical Centre, with some requiring surgical intervention for spinal-related conditions consistent with occupational musculoskeletal disorders, including cervical and lumbar spondylosis. The nature of the treatment points to cumulative physical strain rather than a single workplace accident, a pattern well documented among mineworkers elsewhere in Ghana’s gold sector.

Research into occupational health in Ghana’s mining industry supports the plausibility of such cases. A cross-sectional study of workers at AngloGold Ashanti’s Obuasi mine found a twelve-month prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders as high as 85.5 percent, with the lower back the most commonly affected region, accounting for 30 percent of reported complaints.

That study identified operating machinery that causes whole-body vibration, along with the absence of regular rest breaks, as significant risk factors associated with these disorders, a combination of conditions common to contract mining operations involving heavy equipment such as those AMS runs at Tarkwa.

Separate research into occupational health hazards among Ghanaian mineworkers has similarly flagged spinal disorders as a recurring concern in physically demanding roles, particularly where workers are exposed to prolonged vibration, awkward postures, or heavy lifting without adequate ergonomic safeguards or protective intervention.

If confirmed, the cases involving AMS staff would add to a growing body of evidence that musculoskeletal injury remains an under-addressed occupational hazard in Ghana’s mining sector, even as attention has traditionally focused on more visible risks such as respiratory disease, noise-induced hearing loss and accidents involving heavy machinery. Occupational health researchers have consistently called for greater investment in ergonomic programmes, ODark structured rest schedules and worker training on safe equipment handling to reduce the burden of such disorders across the industry.

This article reached out to African Mining Services for comment on the reported cases and the company’s occupational health protocols at its Tarkwa site. This article will be updated with any response received.

Mustapha Bature Sallama.
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal investigation and Intelligence Analysis.

International Conflict Management and Peace Building.USIP

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References:
Tawiah, A. K., Oppong-Yeboah, B., and Bello, A. I., “Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Workers at Gold Mine Industry in Ghana: Prevalence and Patterns of Occurrence,” Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research, 2015 https://journaljammr.com/index.php/JAMMR/article/view/2065

African Mining Services Ghana, company profile https://yellowpagesghana.com.gh/listing/african-mining-services-ghana/

Reporting based on the author’s own sources.