Brisk illegal gold mining at Prestea

Illegal gold miners popularly called "Galamsey operators," have besieged a concession of the Bogoso Gold Limited (BGL) at Prestea.

This followed the declaration by Nana Kyei Panyin, a disputed Chief of Himan at a public hearing last Tuesday that BGL did not have the lease to operate at Prestea. There was divided opinion at the hearing as to whether BGL would operate an underground mine since the company undertook surface mining.

Sam Kusi-Agyeman, Project Manager of New Century Mine, speaking to the GNA described the action of the “galamsey operators” and the support they enjoyed from a section of the community as "Public Disorder".

He said, as a result of the action, an environmental clean up and drilling exercise at Prestea by BGL had seized. Kusi-Agyeman explained that due to an investment agreement between BGL and PGR in May 2001, BGL was awarded a surface Mining Lease to a depth of 200 meters below Prestea Central Shaft.

As required under the law, BGL had to submit its Environmental Impact Statement to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for review. It was at the hearing for the people to express their concerns on the proposed project organised by the EPA that the Chief said BGL did not have a lease to mine in the area leading to the rush by “galamsey operators” to the area the company was undertaking environmental clean up and drilling.