Anglogold Obuasi Mine Could Go Down Unless

Mr. Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan, Chief Executive Officer of Anglogold Ashanti, has revealed that its Obuasi mine is facing very grave operational and financial challenges, and hinted that the mine could go down, unless all stakeholders act decisively and collectively to save it.

He described the over $30 million now being injected into the Obuasi mine every month as an unsustainable option which constitutes a very serious drain on the finances of the AngloGold Ashanti Group, and warned that it could be compelled to discontinue its operation of the mine.

Mr. Venkatakrishnan explained that this state of affairs was further aggravated by the plummeting prices of gold, the increasing cost of production, and growing pressure from the banks.

The Chief Executive, therefore, urgently called on the government to appoint that an official to actively engage and co-ordinate the efforts of all identifiable stakeholders, and link up with the management of AngloGold Ashanti to evolve practical measures to save the Obuasi mine.

Mr. Venkatakrishnan who is currently on a 2-day visit to Ghana made the observation during a courtesy call on Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, sector Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.

The call provided the Chief Executive an opportunity to update the Minister on the status of the mine, and explore possible strategies to save it.

Mr. Venkatakrishnan emphasised that the management was working round the clock to come up with strategies to remove constraints, which, in a way, would enable the mine to increase production, and acknowledged that the Obuasi was potentially a very rich mine, which could be operated as a very profitable enterprise.

The Chief Executive said management of the company had engaged all its stakeholders to enable them collectively consider viable options to operate the mine, as opposed to a complete shutdown, in view of the importance the Anglogold Ashanti Board, government of Ghana, and people of Obuasi attached to the mine.

He, however, explained that the company alone cannot continue to shoulder the responsibility of keeping the company afloat, and emphasised that all stakeholders, including the government, should contribute to the effort.

Mr. Venkatakrishnan said the company had also embarked on a comprehensive outreach programme to educate all stakeholders, particularly workers and labour unions, on the financial status of the mine, to enlist their support to revive the fortunes of the Obuasi mine.

On his part, Inusah Fuseini re-affirmed that the state of the Obuasi mine was of major concern to the government of Ghana, and pledged that the government would do all in its power to save the Obuasi mine.

Responding to the Chief Executive Officer’s request for the appointment of an official to coordinate efforts to save the mine, the Minister promised to work with despatch to facilitate the process of building consensus amongst all stakeholders to map out appropriate strategies to turn around the Obuasi mine.