OBUASI

Ashanti memories

Having been born in Ghana, and with an archive of Obuasi memories accumulated throughout the 70’s and early 80’s, returning after almost 30 years was going to be an emotional balance between curiosity and intrepidation.

As I have been involved in the mining industry since graduating from the Camborne School of Mines in 1982, I have been able to keep track of the operational changes that have taken place at the Ashanti mines. However, the other aspects of Obuasi life I would have to experience personally in order to appreciate the changes and try and put my memories into some sort of perspective.

Driving from Kumasi along a tarred road (instead of the old potholed laterite road) took about an hour, and as we approached the Obuasi area the hills were immediately recognisable. We were stopped at the police check point on the outskirts of the town and had a friendly chat with the officers, as a true bush-man wandered by stark naked. We had arranged to meet Doug Hayes, a Canadian mining engineer who has been working on the mine for around 15 years. Doug had kindly offered to sort out accommodation for us as well as set up a general surface tour and an underground visit.

We then proceeded to the Anyinam Lodge with its infamous Plava Bar. The drive through that part of town gave us no clues as to where we were in respect to the old Obuasi we remembered. The Anyinam Lodge is near to Sansu and was built to house the contractors involved with the sinking of the ‘new’ mine shafts (Kwesi Mensah and George Cappendale) and the Sulphide Treatment Plant. The gardens at the lodge are really nice and it has a swimming pool and a decent restaurant. The Plava Bar speaks for itself and apparently, when the constructions were in full swing, was full of Nigerian prostitutes. Mine camps, wherever in the world, will never change. Driving to the lodge, it was clear that there has been a lot of development in the Sansu and Ayenem area and the bulk of the Ashanti Mine operations have moved this way. There was a lively buzz in the town with many Ghanaian bars and restaurants lining the roads. Ashanti Goldfields was taken over a few years ago by AngloGold, a South African company, and it has been renamed AngloGold Ashanti.

The following morning Doug picked us up and took us to the Adansi Shaft offices to get our gear for the tours. Once we had driven a couple of kilometres from the lodge we recognised the Catholic Church by the golf course and from that point onwards the pieces of the jigsaw started to fall into place. We drove through the main security gates and on to the old Ashanti complex that we remembered. On the way we had a quick drive past the cricket field and up to the Obuasi Sports Club. We planned to come back later after our mine tours to do some filming. The Adansi Mine was in its day very rich in gold, but today, with the reserves depleted, is mainly used as an admin base. We gathered our gear and remembered the location of the offices of some of our friends’ dads. Then it was off to STP (Sulphide Treatment Plant) which has replaced the old PTP (Pompora Treatment Plant) as the focus of gold treatment and extraction. Over the decades, the predominantly rich native gold ores have been replaced by more complex gold rich arsenopyrite ores. STP has thus incorporated some of the latest technologies, in particular a Biox Plant in which bacteria ‘eats’ the sulphides and frees the gold for recovery. However, the richness of the gold ores is nothing like it used to be and with a grade of around 6 grams per tonne, I wonder about the long term viability of the Ashanti Mine. In all respects the Ashanti Mine is truly a world class discovery as it has been producing for close to 100 years and still has considerable gold reserves in the ground. The hills in the area were scattered with old diggings and workings and there is surely further gold laden reefs to discover. We drove past the George Cappendale Shaft, and this brought back memories of when my Dad would drive me there to see the bush being cleared away and the start of the shaft collar. There was nothing here at the time, no village or people, only a laterite track and thick bush. Now it is a developed area and it was nice to know that this particular shaft had struck it very rich with 2 ounces of gold per tonne being common. In fact, this shaft had carried the Ashanti Mine through a very difficult period of its history.

That afternoon, with Doug having gone back to work, we decided to take a drive to the golf course, the fresh water dam and the Monsi Valley estate. The golf course is now quite run down although the course itself is in good order. The road to the club has deteriorated badly and we stopped at the old grave yard where Mr Corner (a former GM from the late 60’s) is buried. Whilst there we met a Ghanaian called Charles Texan who caddied Mr Corner and others that we knew. At the club we read the Cup Winner and Club Captain boards and recognized many names from the past. Johnny Berry and Keith Fernandez were listed as cup winners and I recall them both being very good golfers.

Next it was down to PTP (where my Dad worked for 27 years) and the freshwater dam where we all spent fun times fishing on the wooden boat. We had no trouble recognising the road to PTP and onwards towards the dam. What was strange was not seeing any tailings dams up on the hill side....they are all gone. As we drove along the old road things became less and less recognisable so we stopped at an earth clearing operation and made some enquiries. We were told that the old water dam had gone and had been replaced by a large tailings dam, but we could still drive up and check it out. What was also fortunate is that we met a Ghanaian called Charles Asamoah who still worked at PTP (now renamed TTP – Tailings Treatment Plant) and fondly remembered my Dad. Charles offered to take us into PTP to meet a few others who also remembered my Dad and to dig out some old pictures. We agreed to pick him up on the way back from the dam. Further up the valley we came across a large tailings dam wall and after a chat with the guard at the gate we proceeded to the back end of the dam. Once we reached the back the terrain became instantly recognisable, but the old village and the boat hut were no more.

We drove around the dam along a laterite track through the hills and then picked up Charles and proceeded to PTP. Arriving at PTP we noticed that most of the equipment has now gone, but the admin offices are still there. We went into my Dads old office and remembered playing with the type writer. Charles then introduced us to Thomas Asamoah, who also remembered my Dad well and we spent some time chatting about people we remembered. One name that came up was Peter Enimil, and this was someone I had often heard my Dad talk highly of. We were told that Peter was living near to the Anyinam Lodge and Thomas agreed to take us there. Peter was a true friend of my Dad’s so we were looking forward to meeting him. We drove to Peter’s house and instantly recognised him. He now has a thriving bottled water business and has built a school. He drives around in a car that he won in a Standard Bank raffle and anyone who remembers Peter will recall him as being very lucky with competitions. We also learned that Kimpo, another name from the past, and a friend of my Dad’s was also still around. I remember Kimpo as a very keen fisherman and we would often go to 9 Mile river on Sunday fishing for catfish. Peter said he would track him down for us and take us to visit.

That evening Peter picked us up and we went to the Obuasi Sports Club for a cold Star beer. The club has changed quite a bit and is not the social focal point today that it used to be. The restaurant, snooker room, library, main bar and tombola room are all still there. I remember fondly the fabulous West African Curry that was served at the restaurant on Sundays by Kwasi and his staff. We sat in the Cornish Corner of the stoop and reminisced with Peter about the old days. We left just after closing time at 9pm and went back to the lodge. The next morning we were meeting Doug at 7am to go on the underground tour of either the Kwesi Mensah Shaft or the George Cappendale Shaft.

We were picked up on time and drove to the Kwesi Mensah Shaft where we signed in and awaited the cage down to the 34 level. The shaft is almost 1.5km deep, but was not as rich as the George Cappendale Shaft. The night before there had been a large fall of ground in one of the stopes, and we were to join an inspection team that were assessing the situation. Even though I had been underground many times during my own career it was interesting seeing the methods they used to mine the gold ore and also how the planning team were developing a potentially new stoping method to cut down costs. The whole Ashanti Mine operation today produces about 400,000 ounces of gold per year at a cash cost of around US$560 per ounce. However, even with the gold price today being US$1220 per ounce, the Ashanti operation does not make much of a profit as it has a forward sales program in place that forces it to sell its gold at a much lower price......very unfortunate. After visiting a number of stopes and reviewing the state of the ground conditions where the rock fall had occurred, it was time to head to surface. The shaft was on maintenance today so we opted to drive to surface up a ramp system which ran through the George Cappendale Mine and surfaces at the Sansu open pit. The ride was a rough one and with some relief an hour later we emerged at the bottom of the Sansu open pit. We then drove back to the lodge, changed clothes, grabbed our cameras and headed to the security gate. Upon arrival we were told by the security that we could not enter with Proper Job as it was not a Ghanaian registered car. Doug again came to the rescue and offered to lend us his jeep for the afternoon. Eventually we entered through the gates and started our tour of Onyinase (now called Biney Estate). We followed the old bus route around Onyinase and remembered where our friends lived along the way. In general, the condition of the houses was good and I took a video of the route so our friends from Obuasi can see where they lived. Whilst walking around, a young European boy emerged with a few Ghanaians armed with catapults.....exactly the same as we used to do all those years ago. In hind sight I am glad I was not a good shot with a catapult as the birds in the area are spectacular.

We drove up to the Residence and the GM’s house and noted the great views they both had......the perks of being the boss I suppose. We then drove past the hospital and up Engineers Hill. I remember the bus driver in those days having really thick glasses
(presumably for poor sight), and looking down the steep hills as we were driving up I guessed that in today’s world there would be no way that would be allowed. The end of Engineers Hill is where the bus did a u-turn and the last house was where the Wintle family lived. Bill and Elsa were good friends of my parents and I recalled that we would look after their chickens and pigeons when they went on leave. We then proceeded back down the hill and across the railway line, turning left at the top towards South Shaft. Further along and up the hill is where the Warwicks ended up living and I remembered some great parties on their stoop. The road up was in very poor condition and we should not have been as surprised as we were when we arrived. The Warwick’s (and later Storey’s) house is now almost derelict and has been stripped of doors, windows etc by the Ghanaians. This was by far, of all the houses we had seen, in the worst condition. I wondered why this was so, and on further enquiry was told that for the past few years no one had wanted to live there as, being at the end of the road, and on the edge of dense bush, it was notorious for being burgled.

Next we drove up to the Obuasi Sports Club, where we walked down to the squash courts. There are now two courts instead of one, and I recalled we used to play a game every day. In those days it was good to be in the Obuasi mine squash team as we would often play the Kumasi military. You may wonder why it was good to play the military ? Simple, in those days, during all those coups and times of shortage, the military were the ones with all the beer ! Justin will remember those times proper.

Next we walked around the club itself and spent some time in the restaurant (which looks exactly the same), and the play stage (where I remember sneaking in as a boy and looking at all the costumes and stage sets). The film hall is the same, and I remember watching all those black and white films (Charlie Chaplin and the Key Stone Cops). They even used to come around with ice cream and lolly pops......ahhh those were the days. We moved on towards the swimming pool and noticed the old play ground had disappeared. The whole of the gardens between the club and the pool is now an outdoor bar area. The first thing that struck me when we arrived at the pool was that it was a lot smaller than I recalled. The changing rooms are still there, the slide and the diving board have gone, as have the sets of wooden stairs in the shallow end. The fountain and baby pool are still there, but the tiling has been replaced. I recall us being chased off the fountain by the pool man as it affected his pumps. The AGC diving structure at the deep end is still there although it has tilted over a bit. The fencing around the pool is still there and I remember Colin Greg used to walk around its perimeter like a chimpanzee.....sorry Colin ha ha. We used to spend most of our time at the pool and, looking back, it surprises me that we could have done so. I guess the squash, football, fishing, golf and chatting up the lovely Pauline Clark (good job Nick doesn’t read my Blog) broke up the day. We then made our way around the back of the pool to the old school, which has been turned into a police lodging. Apparently, there are some problems with illegal miners in the area. Although the structure is the same, there is little to remind one of the school. The old clock s still there and I remember the area where Moses, the school janitor, killed a big spitting cobra......I am sure Fiona Greg may remember that as she was one of the discoverers and screamed the loudest. Fiona’s mum used to teach at the school and I recall how she would try and get us to pronounce ‘Food’ the Scottish way, which sounded more like ‘Fud’. I remember all of us running out of class and playing football on the field, rarely getting a gold star for any work, and dreading maths. I also clearly remember my last school assembly where Mr Nichols asked the whole school to say goodbye to Marina Wintle and me, as we were being shipped off to a boarding school in England.

The hours went by quickly as we reminisced on the past and it was soon time to head back to the lodge before heading to Doug’s house for some traditional Ghanaian food. Doug is a typical Canadian who exudes kindness, and his Ghanaian wife Anne had prepared a feast for us. I spent most of the evening chatting with Doug about common people we knew from the Canadian mining industry and it once again reinforced what a small world the mining world is. Doug had even worked in Red Lake, Ontario, where the company I was running, Gold Eagle Mines, was fortunate enough to discover a major gold deposit in 2008. That discovery led to a high profile corporate take-over which enabled me to move on from the mining industry and embark on this trip around Africa. We said our fond farewell to Doug and Anne and thank them profusely for their kindness.

The following morning we had arranged to get Proper Job serviced as we had reached the 5000km milestone and figured that Obuasi would be a good place to get it done. During the car service, we again met with Peter Enimil who had tracked down Kimpo. We spent a pleasant hour or so at Kimpo’s house before it was time to pick up Proper Job and pack for our trip to the coast.

One of our regrets was not being able to re-connect with Yaro, our old steward boy. We tried but to no avail, and you wonder sometime if it was just meant to be. We drove for the last time past the security gates and past the AGC junior staff club and headed down to Cape Coast.

What has become apparent is that for sure, because of the turbulent 70’s, we were unfortunately very restricted to where we could go in Ghana. We have seen infinitely more of Ghana on this trip than we saw in 18 years of living here. Ghana offers much to do and see. Even within Obuasi itself we were restricted to a small area, akin to being under a ‘corporate umbrella’. Throughout all the military coups, it was a common factor that as the Ashanti mine produced most of the foreign revenue, it was closely protected by successive governments and leaders. The few times we had managed to get permission to go down to the coast by train or car were special times, and I was looking forward to revisiting some of these places on this trip.

In my opinion, living in Ghana provided a healthy lifestyle based on sports and socialising. Also, in many ways, it was a life where materiality was relatively irrelevant. Ashanti did provide us with the opportunity to go to expensive boarding schools in the UK. It was also a transient place where people moved on and were easily forgotten. Although we certainly missed out on things by not growing up in the UK, on balance I would say that growing up in Ghana more than made up for it.

Personally, living in Ghana gave me a true sense of adventure which has enabled me to visit many parts of the world. This in turn has enabled me to achieve what I could not even have dreamed about whilst living at Obuasi. Fate certainly has a big part to play in life, but I have to believe that the life we led here helped in some way to navigate through the difficult pathways in life. I know, much of the above is very subjective, but I hope my Obuasi friends have all gained much from spending their informative years in Ghana.

It is difficult, maybe impossible, to put into a few paragraphs what it is like returning to a place that made up all of ones’ teen years. Trying to put those memories into perspective will take many weeks of pondering. As we left Obuasi, I conscientiously recognized that I would not be back again. There was no sadness as my fond memories from Ghana are still very much intact and I was truly glad to be back and able to recall so many friends and fun times.

There are many changes here, but, for sure, Ghana with its friendly people and lush bush, is still one of the nicest countries in Africa. Long may this be so....hope the Black Stars shoot well in the World Cup !!

Make sure you look out for the video footage that we shot, which Jane will post on Facebook when she gets back to the UK. Hopefully, it provides a good overview of Obuasi for you.