AngloGold gets EPA permit for Obuasi mine

South African gold producer AngloGold Ashanti has announced that Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency has issued permits for its Obuasi mine, paving the way for the redevelopment of the mine.

“With the key permitting and regulatory process complete, we will continue to progress with the redevelopment of the Obuasi mine,” Chief Executive Officer Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan said in a statement.

The statement read: “AngloGold Ashanti is pleased to advise that Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency has issued environmental permits for the Obuasi Gold Mine, another important milestone paving the way for the redevelopment of this large, high-grade ore body.”

The environmental permits relate to the Obuasi re-development project and its associated tailings and water infrastructure.

“With the key permitting and regulatory process complete, we will continue to progress the redevelopment of the Obuasi mine as a modern, productive operation that will benefit a range of key stakeholders for, at least, two decades,” Venkatakrishnan said.

“We’d like to thank the Government of Ghana and its agencies for their responsive and constructive approach to our negotiations and the regulatory process, showing the alignment of both parties in advancing this important investment into the country,” he added.

This comes days after the government of Ghana granted AngloGold Ashanti, a $259 million tax waiver.

Mr Venkatakrishnan said the move marked an “important milestone”.

The company said the ratification of the Development Agreement and the Tax Concession Agreement (Obuasi Agreements) that cover the redevelopment of the Obuasi Gold Mine into a modern, productive mining operation, is an important step in progressing Obuasi’s redevelopment.

The Board of Directors of AngloGold Ashanti had approved spending of $31m in February 2018, for front-end engineering and other preparatory work for the mine’s redevelopment, which is continuing.

“This is an important milestone that follows extensive negotiations and debate,” Mr Venkatakrishnan (Venkat), said.

“Obuasi is a high-grade, long-life ore body that will provide production for at least two decades at a very competitive cost, which will benefit a truly diverse set of stakeholders.”