Issues and challenges facing the resumption of underground mining at Golden Star Resources’ Prestea Mine

Abstract

Underground mining at Prestea has been carried out for the past 100 years and has resulted in the development of a significant underground infrastructure. However, due to lack of capital investment in the 1980’s and 1990’s combined with low gold prices during the late 1990’s, the operational capabilities of the underground suffered resulting in closure of the operation in 2002 and it being placed on care & maintenance. Since becoming involved with Prestea Underground in 2002, Golden Star Resources has invested approximately $43M in exploration, evaluation, and care and maintenance of the property. Key issues that confront the Prestea underground include the condition of the Central and Bondaye Shafts, age of the primary mine infrastructure and the fact that much of the known reserves have been depleted. The current approach to re-starting the operation involves returning the shafts to safe and operable conditions and initiating a program of concentrated rehabilitation and development activities necessary to support a small but efficient mining operation. Another major challenge involves the socio-economic impacts to the catchment communities of Prestea. With over a century of mining history, the people of Prestea and its environs have high expectations of improvements in both their social and economic well being that would result from re-starting the mine.