The FGR/Blue Gold’s Bogoso Prestea Limited is threatening to sue the Government of Ghana over the revocation of their operational license.
The FGR/Blue Gold’s Bogoso Prestea Limited mining license, which was revoked in 2023, is in a bad state.
The revocation was reportedly supervised by former Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Samuel Abu Jinapor, following a recommendation from the Minerals Commission, headed by Martin Ayisi.
However, barely two years after the mining firm ceased operations, it is believed to be in serious jeopardy.
The company’s solicitors, Meyer Brown International LLP, recently notified President John Dramani Mahama of moves to commencement arbitral proceedings “to safeguard their interests.”
“As this dispute has not been resolved to date, the Investors shall now commence arbitral proceedings against the Republic of Ghana, pursuant to Article 10 of the UK-Ghana Bilateral Investment Treaty,” it stated.
It noted that “The Investors regret having to take such dire steps, but have been left with no other choice. It
is apparent that no single authority in Ghana intends to hold itself accountable to the Investors, or make itself available for any serious discussions.
“Your Excellency will receive our Notice of Arbitration in the coming weeks. As a preliminary indication, the Investors expect to claim damages in excess of USD 1 billion.”
Deteriorating facilities
A release updating the development pointed out that if the government does not act quickly to resolve the mining lease issue, it will be challenging for any investor to undertake renovations.
“It is gathered from the mining community that the mine is seriously flooded, thereby putting future mining operations in danger,” said the release.
The release accused the IMC, set up by the CEO of the Minerals Commission to supervise operations after the revocation of the mining leases, of doing very little to ensure the maintenance of the mine.
“It is worth noting that illegal mining operators have taken advantage of the inactivity of the mine and accessed the underground workings, causing serious harm to the underground workings. They are actively operating underground and blasting at will.
“What is happening at Prestea underground is mirroring what happened in Obuasi recently, where lives were lost.
“The only difference being that in Prestea, the illegal miners are having a field day, since they are being supported by the Minerals Commission’s IMC and some employees.”
Read The Full Release
LATEST DEVELOPMENT ON ABU JINAPO’S “CONCERT” ON HOW TO APPROPRIATE BLUE GOLD’S BOGOSO PRESTEA MINING LEASE
The public will recall that on September 3, 2023, former Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Samuel Abu Jinapor revoked FGR/Blue Gold’s Bogoso Prestea Limited’s mining leases in in a rather bizzare and comical recommendation from the Minerals Commission, headed by an interested party in the name of Mr. Martin Ayisi.
The Preatea Mine is currently in serious jeopardy and would be challenging for any investor to renovate if the government did not act quickly to resolve the mining lease issue.
It is gathered from the mining community that the mine is seriously flooded thereby putting future mining operations in danger. To make matters worse the IMC set up by the CEO of the Minerals Commission to supervise post the revocation of the mining leases surprisingly did very little to ensure the maintenance of the mine.
It is worth noting that illegal mining operaators have taken advantage of the inactivity of the mine and accessed the underground workings, causing serious harm to the underground workings. They are actively operating underground and blasting at will. What is happening at Prestea underground is mirroring what happened in Obuasi recently where lives were lost. The only difference being that in Prestea, the illegal miners are having a field day, since they are being supported by the Minerals Commissions’ IMC and some employees.
The big question now is why has Heath Goldfields, the “Multi-Million” cedi “conglomerate”, with a stated Capital of GHS10,000.00 been given the go-ahead to take charge of Bogoso Prestea leases when there is no official transfer of the lease to them. They have flooded the mine with all sorts of personnel, ostensibly with the support of Mr. Martin and Mincom. It is well known in all circles that Blue Gold/FGR are fighting the illegality of the Minster’s action in the international and our local calls. Are our officers treating the courts with impunity? We need answers.
To make matters worse, the same Minister who initially wrote to Mincom approving the grant of the leases to Heath Goldfields by a letter dated 12th November, 2024, wrote another letter on 20th November to the same office directing that all processes relating to the grant of the mine (Bogoso Prestea Concessions) to any company be suspended. This is coming from a “Competent Flip Flop Minister”. We find this bizarre, comical as well as unethical from such a high office.
With all said and done, we are calling on the minister to take swift action to save Bogoso Prestea Mine from collapsing. The Country Ghana, the mining community and workers are better of with Blue Gold than any new investor.
The question to ask now is who will invest about $150m in paying debts when this amount can build a brand new mine? As for Blue Gold, they have already commitments to the project, so going to ahead pay these debts is an on-going venture, so let’s bear that in mind.
