The Ghanaian government has shut down the operations of a Chinese mining firm, Shaanxi, following the death of at least 16 miners in an explosion at a mine in the Talensi District in the north of Ghana.
Several others were injured and are now receiving treatment in hospital.
Company officials have blamed illegal miners for ignoring their warnings and continuing to encroach on their mine and getting caught in one of their explosive mining operations.
But Ghanaian authorities have launched an investigation after reports suggested that the miners had died from inhaling toxic gases from an explosion in a mine tunnel.
Two years ago, the company had to suspend its operations for three months over safety concerns, following the death of seven miners.
