Golden Star: Mine workers agitate for severance package

The workers are demanding severance letters from GSR and letters of appointment offering new employment from FGR with a dotted line for the workers to sign acceptance or otherwise.

The workers say in a petition to FGR said, “We as workers are not part of the capital assets on the balance sheet transferred to you as a buyer in the recent acquisition of the mine. For us to be a part of your acquisition, the place would have to be Bristol or Liverpool, England and the time would have to be in the 18th century. This is sovereign Ghana in the 21st century and that shall not be the case.”

Golden Star Resources sold 90 percent of its interest in the Bogoso Prestea Mines to FGR with effect from October 1, 2020, at a cost of $95 million.

FGR was to pay an initial amount of $5 million cash consideration but that has differed to six months later – March 30, 2021 – pending finalization of FGR’s reclamation bonding process.

The remaining US$90 million is to be paid over a 3-year period during their operations.

Government of Ghana holds 10 percent shares in GRS and experts have said Ghana could lose revenue in taxes and dividends.

Future Global Resources (“FGR”) was established by its shareholders in 2020 to build a globally diversified mining business that invests in, develops, and operates long-life mineral resources, to stimulate economic development.

Its initial focus is on Africa, leveraging the credentials of its board, executive, and shareholders on the African continent. FGR is committed to the principles of community and environmental sustainability.

Its principal shareholder is UK-based Blue International Holdings Limited, which is also the largest investor in Joule Africa Limited, a developer, owner, and operator of renewable energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa.