AngloGold Ashanti Halts Guinea Gold Mine Operations

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Societe Aurifaire de Guinee (SAG)- the Guinea subsidiary of South African mining major AngloGold Ashanti announced that the gold mining operations in the country’s Siguiri site has been halted, following protests from local community on ongoing dispute over a road that links the towns of Siguiri and Kintinian.

According to media reports, the company was forced to suspend the mining operations after hundreds of members belonging to the local Fatoyah community took possession of the mine facilities and built barricades. The community leaders claimed that the company has retreated from its promise to tar the 1.86 mile road. However, the spokesperson for AngloGold Ashanti noted that the company has already completed the project in partnership with the government. The company has already started negotiations with protest leaders, in a bid to restart operations at mine after settling the dispute.

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The suspension has put to halt all extraction and processing activities at the mine site. All subcontracting services to SAG have also been stopped. The stoppage is feared to significantly impact gold output from the mine. The West African Siguiri mine had produced 242,000 ounces of gold during the previous year.

AngloGold Ashanti owns 85% ownership in the mine, whereas the remaining 15% ownership belongs to the Government of the Republic of Guinea.

Community protests and mine invasions as well as labour strikes are quite common in mines across African countries.