Mr. Patrick Appiah-Mensah, Managing Director of Heath Gold Fields, formerly Bogoso-Prestea Mine, says the mine which stopped operating for over a year, is no longer a decline story but a case study in responsible mine rejuvenated under Ghanaian leadership, recording its first gold pour.
He said this milestone is not just a return to production but a powerful symbol of resilience, discipline determination and responsible leadership, adding that the mine has strengthened operational discipline, moved from insolvency and stagnation to structured revival and production.
The Managing Director said the mine, under the stewardship of Heath Goldfields Limited, is poised to deliver sustainable employment, increased local participation, improved standards and meaningful contribution to national revenue.
He has therefore urged critics and saboteurs to stop needless attacks and propaganda against the new management and rather support it to achieve these visions.
He was speaking at a media engagement to update members of the inky fraternity on current state of the Mine and its operations. The journalists were also conducted round the Mine to see things for themselves.
Challenges inherited
Mr. Appiah-Mensah indicated that Heath Goldfields Limited inherited many challenges such as flooded underground mine, risky tailing storage facilities, non-operational processing plant and non- functional water treatment plant after taking over stewardship of the Mine a year ago.
He said employee salaries and entitlements were in arrears for several months, payment to local community contractors and other service providers outstanding with utility arrears to VRA, GridCo and other service providers also amounting to several million dollars.
The Managing Director said reviving such an asset is not an event but a structured process that requires courage, substantial capital, regulatory support and a deep commitment to stakeholders.
He, however, announced that after successfully navigating and overcoming all these hurdles, the dying Bogoso-Prestea Gold Mine has now resurrected offering 1, 400 direct and indirect jobs to people with approximately eighty percent of them drawn from host communities.
He said over 139 million cedis has so far been paid towards settlement of employee legacy obligations to demonstrate the Mine’s credibility as a responsible Ghanaian operator.
The Managing Director further disclosed that more than seventy service providers are currently actively engaged by the mine to impact on the local economy.
Prudent measures
He said the mine’s one year success story was achieved because of prudent measures put in place by management including the engagement of a team of world-class Ghanaian professionals from leading mining organizations globally.
Mr. Appiah-Mensah intimated that this deliberate investment in human capital is meant to adequately resource the Mine with technical expertise, operational discipline and leadership capacity to help achieve its vision.
He said thanks to innovative ideas, the mine’s Underground water levels had dropped by over 240 feet with approximately 10 million litres of water removed daily.
“The Tailings Storage Facility has also been stabilized and restored to safe operational conditions with additional ongoing works to increase storage capacity, ensuring long-term operational sustainability while maintaining strict environmental and safety standards”, he said.
Structured refurbishment
The Managing Director also cited structured refurbishment of the Mine’s process plant, rehabilitation of its roads and housing infrastructure and restoration of the Water Treatment Plant to operational readiness.
Additionally, he said the new management had commenced project development works towards rehabilitation and construction of a Sulphide treatment plant, a strategic project that will define the long-term future of the Mine and unlock the full value of the Sulphide resource base.
He said Heath GoldFields had fortunately secured all the necessary operation permits from Environmental Protection Authority and Minerals Commission to continue its good work.
Sustainable development
Mr. Appiah-Mensah spoke of plans by management to launch a Strategic Community Development Initiative aimed at delivering legacy development projects in infrastructure, education, healthcare and enterprise development and in line with the mine’s vision of being a catalyst for sustainable socio-economic transformation in the host communities.
He reiterated that Heath GoldFields did not acquire the assets for short-term optics but restore the Mine to its strength operationally, socially and economically after building trust in host communities through deliberate engagement and enterprise development initiatives.
Some of the journalists, however, stressed the need for regular engagement between management and the host communities to help diffuse needless propaganda by saboteurs.
Story by Yaaba Yamikeh
