US embassy cable - 05ACCRA2312

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 002312 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, ELAB, PREL, PGOV, EMIN, GH 
SUBJECT: AMCIT HOSTAGE SITUATION RESOLVED AT GHANA GOLD MINE 
 
Summary 
------- 
1. (SBU) On November 9, Ghanaian mine workers held hostage 
senior staff, including Amcits, of a mine operated by the 
Ghanaian subsidiary )- Bogoso Gold Ltd. (BGL) -- of a U.S. 
based mining company, Golden Star.  BGL informed Post and 
other affected Embassies about the situation on November 10, 
stating that the situation was the result of a labor dispute. 
 Ambassador organized core EAC members, who coordinated 
throughout the day with BGL, Ghana government and law 
enforcement officials, and other Embassies, to gather 
information and organize a solution.  Post also contacted 
Operations Center (Ref) and prepared draft press guidance. 
BGL notified post at 2:00 pm that Ghana,s Western Regional 
Ministry had convinced the miners to free the hostages, who 
are reportedly unharmed.  Post is still verifying reports 
with the BGL, but it appears between one and three Amcits 
were among the group held by the miners.  End Summary. 
 
Rundown of Incident 
------------------- 
2. (SBU) At approximately 9:30 am on Thursday, November 10, 
Post,s A/RSO received a telephone call from Peter Turner, 
Operations Manager for Bogoso Gold Ltd. (BGL), reporting an 
alleged hostage situation, reportedly involving U.S. 
Citizens.  Turner reported that at 4:00 pm Wednesday, 
November 9, approximately 150 Ghanaian mine workers took 
hostage 26 senior staff members at one of the three 
BGL-operated mines in Ghana (located near Tarkwa in the 
western region of Ghana).  The initial report stated that up 
to six (6) of the 26 alleged hostages were reportedly Amcits. 
 Turner later corrected this and stated there were three (3) 
Amcits among the hostages. 
 
3. (SBU) According to Turner, the hostages had not been 
harmed and were allowed to move freely about the fenced-in 
plant area adjacent to the mine.  However, they were not 
allowed to leave the site or receive visitors or food.  They 
had access to telephone and internet, and were in contact 
with the Accra office.  The dispute was contractual in 
nature, although the mine has had numerous problems with 
local residents, NGOs, and the GoG (see background below). 
 
4. (SBU) RSO briefed the Ambassador and core EAC members on 
the situation at 9:45 am.  The Ambassador immediately 
assigned action officers, sending a consular officer to the 
company headquarters in Accra, and instructing RSO, DAO, and 
A/DCM to contact the police, military, security forces, 
Foreign Affairs Ministry, Interior Ministry, and Western 
Regional Minister,s office.  A/DCM contacted Ops Center and 
Post started an incident log.  RSO informed the DS Command 
Center, and DAO contacted Eucom.  Emboffs also liaised with 
colleagues at other affected Embassies ) Australia, UK, 
Canada, South Africa, and Ireland ) and Ambassador 
participated in a 2:00 pm information sharing meeting at the 
Australian High Commission.  Post's Public Affairs Office 
drafted proposed AF press guidance. 
 
Resolution of Incident 
---------------------- 
5. (SBU) During the 2:00 pm meeting at the Australian High 
Commission, BGL personnel called to report that the standoff 
had been resolved and the hostages were free.  Shortly 
thereafter, BGL Operations Manager Turner called RSO's office 
to confirm the hostages had been released, were well -- 
despite not having any food since the day before--, and that 
he was unaware of any medical issues.  Apparently the hostage 
takers disbursed following the arrival of the Ghanaian Deputy 
Regional Minister (reportedly with police or military), who 
apparently addressed the group telling them that he had 
ordered that no one was to be fired and that they should all 
return to work the following morning. 
 
6. (SBU) BGL subsequently provided a list of the staff that 
had been held hostage, showing only one dual US/UK national 
among the hostages.  Post is attempting to clarify the 
discrepancy and will report any relevant information next 
week, but we are assured that the hostage portion of this 
situation is officially resolved.  The company itself is 
still facing difficult labor issues that it will have to deal 
with.  We may hear from them again.  Post will meet with 
company leadership and possibly visit the site to discern the 
nature of the company's relationship with workers and local 
communities, as well as assess the possibility of future 
incident. 
 
Background on Bogoso Mine 
------------------------- 
7. (SBU) The mine is an open pit gold mine near Prestea (and 
Tarkwa) in the Western Region.  BHP Billiton originally 
operated the mine and sold it to Golden Star in 1999.  Golden 
Star's offices are in Colorado, but the majority of the 
company is owned by Canadians.  The CEO, Peter Bradford, is 
reputedly Australian. 
 
8. (SBU) According to media reports, the mine has had 
numerous problems with environmental issues and community 
relations over the last year.  On or about June 21, 2005, 
there was a shooting incident in which several people were 
injured during a mass protest of villagers near the mine.  It 
is not known who did the shooting.  Ghana's EPA ordered the 
mine closed due to problems with chemical leaks in September. 
 In October 2005, cyanide leaked from a holding pool into the 
local river, killing fish.  On November 2, however, the EPA 
allowed the mine to resume full operations.  A local chief 
engaged the company in talks on November 7, after which he 
announced that dialogue was the best way to move forward and 
called an end to protests.  On that same day the company 
announced it would build a $200 million poultry farm project 
to help the local economy. 
 
BRIDGEWATER