Approximately 100 angry youth from Asato, a farming community in the Kadjebi District of the Oti Region, have obstructed a mining company with heavy equipment from prospecting for the viability of iron ore in the area.

The African Exploration Minerals Group is prospecting for the mineral in the enclave after the Ghana Geological Survey’s feasibility study discovered commercial quantities of iron ore deposits in the enclave.

The youth, who wore red bands and chanted war songs, claimed they were not informed about the prospecting of iron ore in the Asato enclave and expected the company to have engaged them properly before any exploration could be occasioned.

Boakye Danquah Budu, the Assemblyman of the Asato Electoral Area, told the media that the youth became incensed after realizing that some heavy-duty mining machines had been sneaked into the forest zone of Asato for the purposes of mining without community animation.

He said this singular act infuriated the youth, who stated that the events leading to the entry of the equipment were shrouded in secrecy and therefore they needed to stop the exploration.