AngloGold drags gov’t to dispute settlement center

AngloGold Ashanti has dragged the government of Ghana before the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes over inadequate security at its Obuasi mines.

In a statement, AngloGold Ashanti said the decision to place a request before the ICSID was necessitated by the continuous invasion of its concessions by some small scale miners.

The ICSID is an international arbitration institution headquartered in Washington DC, which facilitates dispute resolution between international investors and host states. The statement said Ghana’s Attorney General and other authorities have been duly notified about the commencement of proceedings of the ICSID.

AngloGold Ashanti has been rendering only essential services since February 2016 following the activities of the illegal miners which led to the death of the Communications Manager of the company.

The company last month questioned the decision to pull back military personnel stationed at its core operational areas at the Obuasi mine. The president had ordered the return of soldiers to man the mines following the incursion by the illegal miners but management of the company, said the military has pulled back to guard only limited parts of the infrastructure which do not form part of its main operations.

The company has warned that it may be forced to “consider its options” if these security concerns are not addressed.

The MD of AngloGold Ashanti, Eric Asubonteng at a press conference held last month said, “even though we have a lot of confidence in the potential of Obuasi (mines), what is happening now certainly goes to fundamentally undermine that confidence”.

He added: “Like any investor would do, AngloGold Ashanti at some stage would have to consider its options”.

AngloGold Ashanti in March 2016, completed the process of ceding 273 square kilometers representing 60% of its Obuasi concession to government. Government has in turn begun the process of allocating the ceded concession to registered Artisanal and Small Scale Miners.