MANAGEMENT of FGR BLUE Gold has raised alarm over what it has described as illegal occupation of Bogoso-Prestea mine by Heath Gold Fields.
Accusing Minerals Commission (MC) and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR) for facilitating the illegal occupation of the mine by Heath Goldfields, FGR Blue Gold is demanding an immediate reversal of the illegal takeover of the mine.
In September 2024, the then Minister for MLNR, Samuel Abu Jinapor terminated the mining lease granted FGR BG for the Bogoso-Prestea mine for failing to meet certain conditions.
Heath Goldfields was subsequently granted lease for the Bogoso-Prestea mine. The company has since taken over the mine.
Addressing a press conference in Takoradi, the Acting Managing Director of BGFGR, Yiadom Boakye Amponsah denied that BGFGR failed to meet certain conditions as reason for the termination of the company lease.
He indicated that “Due to the inability of Mincom to subject the process to full-proof for reasons the Mincom can only explain, the entire mine has been subjected to a high level of confusion. The confusion has subsequently promoted various very negative activities such as theft of company assets, employees arrogating to themselves powers they do not have, and above all a company to present itself as new owners of a mine”
In spite of all these challenges, he said FGR/Blue Gold was steadfast in its quest to use the legal and acceptable processes and work with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources/Mincom to resolve the impasse amicably.
Acting MD, Y.B Amponsah told the news conference that though “we have referred the matter to international arbitration, we are committed to withdrawing the case unconditionally, as soon as the mining lease is restored to us”.
Giving a background of the issue, YB told the media that after the official notice by the Minerals Commission communicating the termination of the FGR mining lease, FGR through its Lawyers wrote to the Minerals Commission and disagreed with the decision to terminate the mining lease.
The company he said, in raising the dispute exercised its right under the Minerals and Mining law, Act 703.
The expectation, he indicated, was that the Minerals Commission would have allowed dispute resolution process to commence, but they surprisingly disregarded the legal process, which eventually plunged “all of us into this challenging situation”.
He quoted sections of the Minerals and Mining Act,2006 (ACT 703) section 27(3) and (5), which the Minerals Commission could have used to resolve the dispute amicably, but it rather took side and supervised the occupation of Bogoso-Prestea mine by Heath GoldFields.
“Regrettably, the Minerals Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources have refused to uphold the law that governs mining in the country and have thrown the law into the garbage. Surprisingly the Minerals Commission has, in spite of the above, supervised the occupation of the Bogoso Prestea Mine by a company called Heath Goldfields and illegally using FGR’s vehicles, houses, equipment and infrastructure”.
FGR MD Amponsah told the media he was fully aware of the illegal occupation of the mine, “but we believe that the wheel of justice grinds slowly, so we shall pursue the ongoing legal processes both in Ghana and abroad to avoid chaos and not to disrupt the peace and security of the catchment area”.
He said the position of ACT 703 on Transfer of Mining Lease to New Holders clearly defined the timelines of what needs to happen post termination of a mining lease and giving that particular lease to a new holder.
However, since the termination of the FGR lease on 20th September, 2024, the processes leading to the purported granting of the FGR lease to Heath Goldfields clearly demonstrated an orchestrated attempt to frustrate FGR.
On 15th April 2025, he told the media, the Minerals Commission(MC) published notice of application causing the gazette of Heath Goldfields, which should have been done prior to the granting of the lease in 2024.
