Future Global Resources Bogoso Prestea Limited, a gold mining company in the Prestea Huni Valley Municipality of the Western Region, has denied releasing any portion of its concession for a community mining project in Bogoso.
The denial by the mining firm follows last week’s confusion started by some youth of Bogoso who claimed that FGR had granted the Bogoso community a portion of its concession to be used as a Bogoso mining project, despite opposition by some opinion leaders of the community.
Speaking to Citi News after touring with journalists the alleged portion of concession, the Head of Stakeholder Communications and Community Engagement at FGR, Robert Gyamfi, said that although the company is not opposed to the Community Mining Policy of the government, those behind the allegation in the locality that they have secured permission from FGR to engage in community mining on the company’s concession are not telling the truth, and he urged them to stop spreading such falsehoods.
“As far as I know, we (FGR) have not released any portion of our concession for a community mining project in Bogoso,” he said.
He added that those involved are only doing that community mining without prior approval or permit from any recognized institution, amidst opposition from security personnel of FGR.
FGR also refuted the assertion that one of the pits believed to be at the center of this alleged released portion of concession does not fall directly in its concession.
“Mining at the Bogoso South and Bogoso South Bypass pits form part of several areas submitted to regulators in line with the Reclamation Security Agreement for completion certificate since 2014. The mining was completed in 2001. Rehabilitation in line with the Reclamation Security Agreement commenced immediately in 2000-2001 with tree crops establishment on the waste rock dump and water reservoir design with protective zones and features to ensure safety of community members. The tree crop establishment and maintenance of the two-pit areas over the 20-year period cost the company several thousands of United States dollars to accomplish,” he noted.
The Head of Stakeholder Communications and Community Engagement at FGR also mentioned that the rehabilitation and closure options agreed with regulators in the Reclamation Security Agreement were a forest reserve and a clean water reservoir for aquatic life growth and biodiversity establishment.
He expressed worry that over the past 20 years, urbanization has led to the encroachment of residential buildings close to the pits, although records of current and previous engagements carried out by the previous operator of the mine, around Bogoso-Prestea mine in 2020, attest to various efforts by the company to stop the encroachment.
Mr. Gyamfi also said that as of the year 2020, the remaining rehabilitated grown trees which were 20 years old were unlawfully cleared by some residents of the local community for structural construction, resulting in exposure of the pits.
He also indicated that the company has observed with concern that apart from the obvious increase in the environmental liability burden of the company if the activities of the encroachers are not stopped immediately, their activities could have the potential of causing serious threat to public safety, especially those innocent residents living within the vicinity of the pits in question.
“The exposure of some geological characteristics of the pits to the weather could make the pit materials reactive and acid generating, and their negative impacts on surface and ground water in the area will increase. Noise and dust generation as well as the potential influx of people and its potential attendant social vices among others in the area cannot also be ruled out,” he emphasized.
Although monitoring of the area to scare off the potential developers of the pits for community mining has been intensified by personnel of the security department of the company, at the time journalists paid a visit to the concerned pits, some people were working in one of the pits with an excavator machine.