Blue Gold Secures $140m to Restart Bogoso-Prestea Gold Mine
Shares of Blue Gold jumped as much as 9.6% Wednesday after the junior miner announced it had secured an additional $65 million in funding to restart the Bogoso and Prestea gold mine in Ghana.
The new commitment, from an undisclosed institutional investor, brings the total capital pledged to $140 million.
Blue Gold’s market cap now sits at $194 million. Year-to-date, the company has nearly halved in value, down 45%.
The funds are being held in escrow, pending resolution of a mining lease dispute with the Ghanaian government. Blue Gold said it is prepared to drop ongoing litigation if the matter is settled immediately.
“This funding, along with the amount that is already committed, clearly evidences our capacity to invest and restart in the mine to bring it back into full production,” chief executive Andrew Cavaghan said.
Turning gold into tokens
The mine’s restart aligns with Blue Gold’s broader strategy to tokenize gold output by turning mined gold into secure digital money backed by that gold. The company plans to launch what it claims will be the world’s first global, gold-backed currency. The initiative is being led by Blue Gold’s new digital division.
The lease dispute stems from actions taken by Ghana’s previous government in September 2024, when it moved to block Blue Gold’s planned investment by terminating the mining leases on claims of unpaid wages. Blue Gold challenged the move and says the issue is now before international arbitration.
“We are confident of reaching a resolution, including a settlement, to ensure this important mine is brought back into production as quickly as possible,” the company said.
Mine Lease Reassignment to Heath Goldfields
The $140m funds raised by Blue Gold follow the reassignment of the mining lease of the gold mine to Heath Goldfields by former Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Samuel Jinapor.
The reassignment of the mining lease to Heath Goldfields implies that the company is now the legal owner of the gold mine.
uture Global Resources (FGR) acquired the Bogoso-Prestea Mine from Golden Star Resources in October 2020. Persistent financial and operational difficulties, however, led to widespread unrest among workers and regulatory intervention.
Following several months of worker agitation, the then Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, issued a 120-day ultimatum on August 14, 2024, for FGR to address multiple breaches of its mining lease. When the company failed to comply, the lease was terminated.
On November 12, 2024, the Ministry reassigned the lease to Heath Goldfields Limited, which had been presented as a “financially and technically capable” operator, tasked with clearing outstanding debts, stabilizing operations, and revitalizing the mine.
