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Blood Gold

In the heat and dirt of northern Ghana, a Chinese company stands accused of stealing millions in gold from a neighbouring Australian mine in a brazen heist, firing a “warning shot” that left dozens of locals dead.

11 stories
Blood Gold.

Inside the secret and deadly Chinese heist of millions in gold from an Australian mine

In the heat and dirt of northern Ghana, a Chinese company stands accused of a brazen heist that left dozens of locals dead and triggered a bitter dispute.

  • Eryk Bagshaw and The Visual Stories Team
Teni Ghaatuon, mourns her husband, James Nbalebna, who died aged 21 from a mine blast by the Chinese mining company Shaanxi.

‘Lives have been lost’: Blood Gold investigation sparks push for criminal probe

A key member of Ghana’s defence and interior committee says Chinese miner Shaanxi should be considered for criminal prosecution.

  • Eryk Bagshaw and Edward Adeti
Former Mining Project Manager, Andrew Head sends an email tip to North Asia correspondent Eryk Bagshaw.

Behind the scenes: Uncovering the Blood Gold investigation

North Asia correspondent Eryk Bagshaw shares behind-the-scenes insight into our latest investigation, Blood Gold.

  • Eryk Bagshaw
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  • Podcast

Listen: An email, a coffee and the year-long road to Blood Gold

The investigation began in a Canberra coffee shop, where reporter Eryk Bagshaw spoke with an Australian miner who said he had a story.

The fire at the Jinapor residence in Accra

Ghanaian minister’s home catches fire while he is in Australia

The home of the minister involved in negotiations over a deadly $395 million mining dispute between an Australian and Chinese state-linked miner has caught fire in Accra.

  • Eryk Bagshaw
Ghana’s natural resources minister Samuel Jinapor.

Ghanaian minister to face Cassius in Australia

Samuel Jinapor is expected to be confronted by Cassius’ directors over the $395 million lawsuit in Perth.

  • Eryk Bagshaw and Edward Adeti
Assistant foreign minister Tim Watts

Australian minister to fly to Africa as local leader labels Chinese mine ‘bloodthirsty’

The deadly multimillion-dollar dispute between an Australian and a Chinese state-linked gold mine in Ghana is reaching a tipping point.

  • Eryk Bagshaw and Edward Adeti
James Arkoudis of Cassius Mining.
  • Exclusive

The colourful past of Cassius: Inside the Australian miner now in a $395 million battle

Two investors with criminal histories involving a 28-kilogram cocaine bust and a $16 million fraud were part of the team that has now been forced out of Ghana.

  • Eryk Bagshaw and Edward Adeti
Blood Gold.

Ghana to probe Australian mine theft, question Shaanxi officials

Our Blood Gold year-long investigation has prompted the Ghanaian Minerals Commission to investigate corruption and murder allegations against a Chinese state-linked company.

  • Peter Milne, Eryk Bagshaw and Edward Adeti
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An employee of China Water & Electric Corp welds pipework at the construction site of the Gwayi-Shangani dam, 245km north-west of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, in June.
  • Analysis

Look to Africa to see China’s ambitions in the Pacific

Beijing’s actions in Africa tell us not just about how it views the continent, but about its plans for the rest of the world.

  • Eryk Bagshaw
Cassius Mining CEO James Arkoudis
  • Exclusive

‘No dumb luck punt’: Cassius boss defends gold mining investment in Ghana

Cassius chief executive James Arkoudis has vowed the company will get justice for its shareholders in its $395 million dispute with a Chinese state-linked mine and the Ghanaian government.

  • Eryk Bagshaw

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