By Prince Ahenkorah
The battle for control of the Bogoso-Prestea gold mine has entered a dangerous new phase. On one side, Heath Goldfields LTD – the leaseholder since December 2024 – insists operations are active and lawful. On the other, the Catchment Area Community Alliance (CACA) and firebrand lawyer Martin Kpebu are demanding the government wield Section 68 of the Minerals and Mining Act to revoke the lease immediately.
At stake: thousands of livelihoods, millions in state revenue, and the credibility of Ghana’s mining regulatory regime.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Heath Goldfields rejected what it called “inaccurate, incomplete and misleading” allegations, warning that loose talk could mislead workers and host communities. The company said work is progressing under an approved Mine Development Plan, with oversight from the Minerals Commission.
It also signalled legal action against anyone spreading “false or injurious claims” – a threat that suggests the dispute is moving beyond rhetoric.
But the company’s carefully worded defence did not address the specific technical and financial accusations that CACA laid out a day earlier.
Speaking at a Tuesday press conference, Kpebu laid out a devastating checklist. He cited a May 2025 Minerals Commission report that allegedly found the mine largely non-operational: a non-functional process water treatment plant (idle since December 2023), a deteriorating tailings storage facility, flooded underground sections, and no visible mining activity.
Safety compliance tests were reportedly incomplete. Illegal mining, the report claimed, is happening inside the concession.
Despite a 120-day ultimatum issued by the Commission in June 2025, CACA says Heath Goldfields has failed to fully comply.
The group is also questioning the company’s financial capacity. A promised $500 million investment from a foreign partner remains unproven – “no publicly available evidence”, CACA noted. Delays in procuring critical equipment and rehabilitating infrastructure suggest a cash-strapped operator, not a serious long-term player.
More alarmingly, CACA and Kpebu have zeroed in on a $65 million prepayment financing arrangement with global commodities house Trafigura. Their argument: the deal effectively uses the mining lease as collateral without prior ministerial approval or parliamentary ratification. If true, that would encumber Ghana’s mineral assets – a sovereign risk no minister can afford to ignore.
CACA has also seized on the lease’s timing. Awarded in December 2024 – during a transitional period when government had supposedly halted such transactions – the deal smells of political capture to critics. The group alleges Heath Goldfields failed to settle outstanding obligations to workers, GRA, SSNIT, GRIDCo and VRA within the stipulated timeframe.
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has so far stayed silent. But Kpebu’s invocation of Section 68 is not a casual threat – it gives the Minister powers to revoke a lease for breach of conditions or public interest.
Heath Goldfields promises updates on operations, community programmes and strategy in the coming days. But with a non-functional water plant, flooded pits, and a disputed Trafigura deal, the company is running out of road.
The people of Prestea-Huni Valley, CACA insists, are “yearning for a capable and well-resourced investor”. Whether the government listens or acts is now the only question that matters.