While many former mining employees of the ‘defunct’ Obuasi Mine are hoping to see the resurgence of the mine, almost two years after its ‘closure,’ managers of the facility say their schedule to resume full operations hangs on the expediency of the state to help address the invasion of their concession.
The over 100 years old mine, which went into ‘limited operation stage’ following a restructuring plan announced by AngloGold Ashanti (Ghana) Limited, saw the retrenchment of close to 6,000 mine workers, from 2013 to 2014.
The restructuring exercise, which was expected to last for two (2) years amidst some feasibility studies and others, was intended to ‘reposition the mine.’
This exercise was said to form part of efforts to transform the Mine into a long-life, modern, mining operation to raise more revenue while creating direct and indirect employment and taxes to the state.
However, almost after two years after ramping down its operations, it appears the roadmap to switch back to full capacity will take a longer than expected. This is due to the occupation of parts of the Mine’s operations site by galamsey operators, even after ceding about 60 percent of their concession to government.
The Managing Director of AngloGold Ashanti (AGA), Obuasi Mine, Mr. Eric Asubonteng, said the ongoing feasibility study, a fundamental part of the restructuring exercise, which was at its advance stage, has been halted due to interruption from illegal miners.
He noted that while doing the feasibility works, other plans to secure some regulatory permits as well as some agreement with government to complement the processes were all on course until galamsey operators broke into their operational area, six months ago.
The situation, which led to the demise of a Communications Strategist of the Company, still remains unresolved, particularly after the withdrawal of some military personnel from the Mines prior to the incident.
He observed that in the absence of the military, the illegal miners have grown in confidence, increased in number and made more incursions into the underground workings of the Mine.
He said they are operating and blasting their way through the underground pits with use of some unregulated explosives.
Mr. Asubonteng maintained that the continuous occupation of galamsey operators in their underground tunnels poses a huge risk to the lives of the few workers on the site, the infrastructure of the Mine and even the illegal miners themselves.
He said several appeals to government and other state agencies to help address the current challenge have been unyielding after several assurances.
The current situation is believed to be a huge scare to potential investors, and is believe to be parts of the reasons why Randgold Resources pulled out of their joint venture with AngloGold Ashanti recently.
Randgold in a statement said after undertaking a due diligence exercise into the mine and the redevelopment opportunity it affords, and following the work undertaken on the revised development plan, it determined the development plan will not satisfy their internal investment requirements.
The Company was however, also quoted in September 2015 to have said the joint venture would not spend more than US$1billion on redeveloping Obuasi, which holds about 5 million ounces of gold reserves but has not made a profit in a decade.
The Managing Director of AngloGold Ashanti said “It won’t be easy to turn this world class resource into a world class mine if we don’t manage some of the challenges we are facing now.”
He said it is only with the help of the government to regain control of the parts of the concession illegally occupied by galamsey operators that they will be able to assess the damage caused and factor that into their preparations to resume full operations.
But the Municipal Chief Executive of Obuasi, Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi, in response to these issues said government continues to create the enabling environment for all private sector establishments to thrive.
He explained the sale of government shares of the Company in 2004 it limits the control of the state in the management of the Mine.
However, he acknowledged the illegal occupation of parts of the concession of the Mine by galamsey operators and said government is working within the limits of laws of the country to normalise the situation.
However, the convener of Obuasi Must Not Die Collision, Mr. Prince Aboagye, was worried that the local economy could further slump down if the necessary support is not given to revive the Obuasi Mine.
He alleged that the current development is due to the negligence of some in authorities in the Municipality who are not acting as they should to address the galamsey menace.
He noted that the redundancy led to lot of people moving out of the Municipality, and feared that the diminishing hopes of the people could turn Obuasi into a ghost town.