Ghanaian-owned mining firm Heath Goldfields has launched a five-year, US$20 million community development fund for Prestea, Bogoso and surrounding communities in its operational enclave.
The flagship project is an ultramodern Nursing Training College for Prestea and its environs, billed as the first of its kind in the area.
Other investments include a community centre at Bogoso, a technical and vocational training centre at Bepo and a market complex at Bondaye. The fund also covers an underground campus of the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) in Prestea, built in partnership with the university, alongside new schools and health facilities at Dumasi, Brakwa and Kwame Niampa, plus potable water systems and road upgrades.
Managing Director Patrick Appiah Mensah told community members and dignitaries that the value of mining is “not measured only in ounces of gold,” but in jobs, businesses and lives transformed.
He said the company inherited a collapsed Bogoso-Prestea Mine burdened with flooded workings, abandoned pits, vandalised infrastructure and unpaid salaries, pensions and severance obligations, which had drained economic life from the communities that depended on it.
Heath Goldfields then began an aggressive restoration drive, including dewatering, rebuilding processing plants and resuming operations. Within five months, the firm spent more than GH¢150 million on procurement from local contractors and suppliers, and Appiah Mensah said operations have created about 1,500 direct and indirect jobs.
He also announced scholarships for needy students, youth apprenticeships and graduate training tied to the mining and technical sectors, while appealing to chiefs and residents to protect the mine from illegal activity so the projects can be funded.
Appiah Mensah further urged the government to channel a larger share of mineral royalties and taxes back into mining communities, and to extend stability and development incentives to indigenous firms as it does to foreign-owned companies. He credited founder and Chairman Dr. Kwabena Duffuor with leading the mine’s revival.
