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

A Chinese 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 African nation were “still searching for the whereabouts of the gold”, according to the company.

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Africa has been a major investment destination for Chinese 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.

It said 11 people were believed to be involved in the armed attack on the Chinese 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 attack.

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 Chinese 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 Chinese 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 attack.

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 United Arab 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 conclave of top officials in July, China’s ruling Communist Party said it would continue to press ahead with overseas investment under the Belt and Road Initiative. It also pledged to strengthen risk control and security for Chinese operations overseas.

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

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

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.