Lands Ministry terminates FGR Bogoso Prestea leases • Company strongly disputes action

Blue Gold Bogoso Prestea Ltd, new owners and operators of the FGR Bogoso Prestea Mines, says it has not received any notice of termination of its mining leases of the company.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources last Wednesday, said “the Minister, based on the recommendation of the Minerals Commission and the Attorney-General, terminated the mining leases of FGR Bogoso Prestea Ltd with effect from Tuesday, September 3, 2024.

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, said the Minerals Commission had been directed to take measures to forestall any negative environmental impact that might arise from the termination of the leases.

Not received notice

However, the parent company said in a statement yesterday that it had received no such communication, stressing that the grounds for any such termination would be strongly disputed by the company.

“While any such dispute is ongoing the mining leases remain fully valid and the property of the company,” a statement by the company said.

It, therefore, assure all workers on site to remain calm and go about their duties as the process of termination of a mining lease was subject to prescribed legal procedures to protect the interests of all stakeholders and ensure that due process was followed.

Blue Gold said it was committed to the mine as its recent investments in the mine had shown.

Ministry lays foundation

The minister cited Article 88 of the Constitution, sections 5(1), 68(1) and 100(2) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), and regulation 200(1) of the Minerals and Mining (Licensing) Regulations, 2012 (LI. 2176), as basis for the termination.

The Ministry directed the Minerals Commission to issue a notice of termination to the company, in accordance with regulation 200(4) of LI 2176.

The statement said the decision to terminate the mining leases was taken after reviewing various reports from the Minerals Commission as well as a Ministerial Committee constituted to review the operations of the company, and after extensive engagement with all stakeholders involved in the matter.

The ministry referenced an August 14, 2023 notice to the company for it to remedy breaches of the terms of its Mining Leases.

Following the expiration of the said notice, the company applied for certain approvals and "No Objections" to raise up to $150 million to pay its creditors and bring the mine back to life.

Based on the application and representations of the company, on April 17, this year, the minister granted the company conditional approval to restructure and raise capital within 120 days to pay creditors and operate the mine fully.

It said the conditional approval was subject to, among others, the company commencing the payment of outstanding salaries of workers within two weeks, and completing payment by May 30, this year.

The minister said a report received from the Minerals Commission on August 19, this year, after the expiration of the120 days on August 16, this year, demonstrated that none of the conditions were met.

It was based on this that the minister constituted a three-member independent committee to review the operations of the company and make recommendations.