The Minerals Commission (MC) says neither itself nor the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has received a formal application or request from FGR Bogoso Prestea Ltd, the operators of the Prestea-Bogoso Mines, to put the Mine under Care and Maintenance.
Spokesperson for the Senior Staff Union of Bogoso-Prestea Mines, MacDonald Hickson had in an interview described the performance of FGR as “nothing to write home about”, since the FGR was appointed by president Akuffo-Addo to manage the Bogoso-Prestea Gold Mines six years ago.
He accused the FGR of incurring debt for the company. He claimed mining company owed over $28 million, including salary arrears.
Mr Hickson claimed that the FGR Investors are not financially capable of paying the debts owed, and hence, no attempt made by the FGR to address the challenges facing the company.
He promised to embark on a demonstration to draw the attention of the sector minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor, to the concerns of the workers and the financial difficulties the company is facing, due to the alleged mismanagement of the company by FGR.
But in the statement issued by the Commission yesterday, it explained that an application to suspend production is clearly set out in section 51 of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), which requires the holder of the Mining Lease to serve a notice to that effect on the Minister.
“As indicated earlier, no such request or application has been submitted to the Minister. In the event that such an application is received, it shall be considered in accordance with applicable Regulations and the current state of the mine and a decision taken in the best interest of the Country”, the statement said.
The following is the full statement;
It has come to the attention of the Minerals Commission (Commission) that FGR Bogoso Prestea Ltd, the operators of the Prestea-Bogoso Mine made a verbal presentation to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to put the Mine under Care and Maintenance.
The Prestea-Bogoso Mine is currently under the control of FGR Bogoso Prestea Ltd (FGR) and its principal shareholder, Blue International Holdings Limited, which is based in the United Kingdom. The Mine was previously operated by Golden Star Resources Limited, until the asset was transferred to FGR.
For the avoidance of doubt, neither the Ministry nor the Commission has received a formal application or request from FGR to put the Mine under Care and Maintenance.
An application to suspend production is clearly set out in section 51 of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), which requires the holder of the Mining Lease to serve a notice to that effect on the Minister.
As indicated earlier, no such request or application has been submitted to the Minister. In the event that such an application is received, it shall be considered in accordance with applicable Regulations and the current state of the mine and a decision taken in the best interest of the Country.
The Commission is aware of the stoppage of mining operations in December 2023, due to some operational challenges.
It is important to note that the Commission issued a Notice to FGR in August 2023, to show cause why the Mining Lease should not be terminated due to identified breaches of the Mining Lease.
The notice expired in December 2023 and the Commission shall shortly advise the Minister on the next steps following the expiration of the Notice period.
The Commission wishes to assure the public of its unflinching commitment to ensure the effective and efficient management of the mineral resources of the country, the protection of mining investment in general and the Prestea Bogoso Mine in particular to protect jobs, the local Prestea economy, community development as well as revenue generation for the benefit of the good people of Ghana.
