Chinese firm says US$900,000 of gold stolen in armed attack on mine in Ghana

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

******** firm says US$900,000 of gold stolen in armed ******* on mine in Ghana

A ******** mining company has revealed that it lost 12kg (26lbs) of gold – worth US$900,000 – in an armed robbery in Ghana earlier this year.

Shenzhen-listed gold mining firm Beijing Xiaocheng Technology Stock Co disclosed in its half-year financial report released on Wednesday that “five to six” suspects had been arrested and detained at a police station in Ghana.

Security agencies in the West ******** nation were “still searching for the whereabouts of the gold”, according to the company.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

has been a major investment destination for ******** companies seeking minerals and resources overseas, but there are growing concerns over the security risks, and Beijing has vowed to ramp up protection for workers and assets abroad.

Beijing Xiaocheng, which is engaged in gold mining, production, processing and sales, said Ghanaian security agencies had issued a bounty for the arrest of those responsible for the robbery on April 18.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

Gold is Ghana’s top export – it earned the country US$9.53 billion in 2022, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. Photo: Shutterstock alt=Gold is Ghana’s top export – it earned the country US$9.53 billion in 2022, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. Photo: Shutterstock>

It said 11 people were believed to be involved in the armed ******* on the ******** company’s subsidiary, Akroma Gold Mining Co, in Esaase, in the Kwahu West municipality of Ghana’s eastern region.

The company said Akroma reinforced security measures at the gold mine after the *******.

According to local media reports in April, heavily armed assailants targeted the company’s processing area, stealing gold and assaulting and injuring several workers, including ******** expatriates.

Beijing Xiaocheng said the attackers, who were wearing masks, broke into the Akroma processing plant from an undeveloped area of the mine.

It said workers at the mine, including ******** citizens, were injured after security personnel were overpowered but there were no fatalities.

The robbers fled with 12kg of gold that was to be exported that day, causing a direct economic loss of US$900,000, according to the financial report.

Beijing Xiaocheng, which owns three gold mines in Ghana, said the Akroma mine had resumed normal business activities after the *******.

Story continues

The company also has solar power generation projects including a 20MW photovoltaic power station in Ghana that has been operating for over a decade.

Gold is Ghana’s top export, earning the country US$9.53 billion in 2022, according to Observatory of Economic Complexity data. Nearly half of Ghana’s gold is exported to the ******* ***** Emirates, while Switzerland, India and Hong Kong are all major buyers.

China is a major buyer of Ghana’s petroleum, manganese ore and aluminium ore.

At a

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

in July, China’s ruling ********** Party said it would continue to press ahead with overseas investment under the

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

. It also pledged to strengthen risk control and security for ******** operations overseas.

Demand for private security firms to provide protection for these operations has increased in recent years.

This month, China

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

not to visit the gold-rich, eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where ******** companies and workers have been targeted in recent attacks, kidnappings and killings by armed groups.

This article originally appeared in the

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

or visit the SCMP’s

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

and

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#******** #firm #US900000 #gold #stolen #armed #******* #Ghana

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up