Western Regional Minister visits PSGL after nine-month shutdown

The Western Regional Minister, Joseph Nelson, has visited the Prestea Sankofa Gold Limited (PSGL) to assess the progress of the company following a nine-month operational shutdown.

The visit formed part of the Minister’s engagement with key mining companies and strategic facilities in the region, with a focus on assessing the refurbishment works and efforts to restore full operations at the state-owned gold mining company.

Established in 1994, Prestea Sankofa Gold Limited, popularly known as PSGL, is Ghana’s sole wholly state-owned gold mining company. The company processes old mine tailings and waste ore left behind from decades of mining activities in the Prestea Gold Belt.

The company plays an important role in the local economy, providing more than 300 direct jobs and supporting over 1,000 indirect livelihoods. It also obtains a significant portion of its feed material from local small-scale miners.

However, the company was recently faced with a nine-month operational shutdown, raising concerns about its impact on workers, suppliers and economic activities within the Prestea community.

During his visit, the Western Regional Minister, Hon. Joseph Nelson, expressed concern over the prolonged shutdown and said the government remained interested in ensuring the state-owned facility operates effectively.

He said the potential of PSGL was significant and expressed optimism about the progress being made towards restoring the company to full production.

The Managing Director of PSGL, Alhaji Ishaq Dauda, explained that despite the financial difficulties encountered during the shutdown, management had invested significant internal resources into the rehabilitation of the plant and improvement of infrastructure and safety systems.

According to him, rehabilitation works, which began in May 2025, are currently about 80 percent complete.

He said the civil works are expected to be completed by the end of October, while management is targeting December for the full commissioning of the project.

Alhaji Dauda disclosed that the company had spent about 440,000 dollars on the extension of the old walls, approximately six million Ghana cedis on the refurbishment of tanks, and about five million dollars on the construction of TSF2, with the projects funded internally by the company.

The Member of Parliament for Prestea Huni Valley, Hon. Wisdom Cudjoe, also raised concerns about the capacity of the old tailings dump and called for continued engagement with the Environmental Protection Agency and local communities to ensure safety.

He explained that the tailings dump had reached capacity when the current Managing Director assumed office, resulting in regulatory intervention and subsequent negotiations to allow operations to continue.

Hon. Cudjoe urged the Community Affairs Department of PSGL to provide an update on its engagements with residents to give the community assurance about safety measures around the facility.

With refurbishment works now about 80 percent complete and management targeting commissioning by December, attention is turning to the full restoration of operations at Prestea Sankofa Gold Limited.

The revival of the company is expected to have implications for employment, local economic activity and the supply chain involving small-scale miners in the Prestea area, while also contributing to Ghana’s efforts to strengthen indigenous participation in the mining sector.

Source: Sekunde FM/ Matthew Obededom Arthoro Dadzie