AMCIT HOSTAGE SITUATION RESOLVED AT GHANA GOLD MINE

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