Johannesburg — GLOBAL gold miner AngloGold Ashanti was permitted to resume exporting gold from its Siguiri mine in Guinea last week after advancing a $10m payment to the government for the mine's environmental liabilities, it said yesterday.
Siguiri is the biggest gold mine in Guinea and minerals provide about a fifth of the country's earnings. The government has a 15% stake and AngloGold owns the other 85%.
Siguiri contributes about 7% of AngloGold's total production and spokesman Alan Fine said it was "a core asset" for the group.
Guinea's junta chief, Capt Moussa Dadis Camara, imposed an embargo on gold exports from the mine in March. The initial reason given was that an AngloGold executive failed to attend a mining forum called by Camara which was attended by other mining executives.
Last month the environment minister, Papa Koly Kourouma, said the suspension was because the government was examining the mine's tax position and environmental rehabilitation obligation.
AngloGold might have to pay the government of Guinea as much as $260m for environmental damage, he said.
AngloGold said there were continuing discussions with the government on the protocols of the mine's environmental liability fund of $35m. The company agreed to advance $10m to the government subject to an undertaking that this be used solely for environmental rehabilitation of Siguiri and offset against the balance of AngloGold's future environmental liabilities.
Asked whether AngloGold was confident an embargo on gold exports would not arise again, Fine said it was hoped this situation would not recur and that the relationship and understanding between AngloGold and the government of Guinea was improving.
In a separate statement, AngloGold said its production for this quarter would be $1,127-million ounces of gold, about 1% below previous guidance of $1,14-million.
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I am very surprised that a reputed company like Ashanti has to yield to blackmail and extortion
AngloGold has a reputation, but for what? The dictatorship would never have been possible without the mining companies and the western donors. People who exploit others are pitiful.
The mine has not been able to export ore since a meeting where Dadis shut down the operations because executives of the company did not appear at a govt sponsored mining conference. The environmental liability issue did not surface then but only now that a payment has been made. One can speculate as to whether the payment was related to environmental liabilities or to secure the re-opening of the mine. In relative terms it is a small amount of money that will go into empty govt coffers.
Let's hope that the current Junta maintain their commitment to conduct elections later this year and give the Guineans a chance to choose their President. If not I fear that international pressure on the Junta and a poor commodity market will be bad for the country.