AngloGold not giving up on mine
AngloGold Ashanti is not giving up on its La Colosa project in Colombia after a referendum among local residents showed they were overwhelmingly against the building of a mine.
AngloGold Ashanti is not giving up on its La Colosa project in Colombia after a referendum among local residents showed they were overwhelmingly against the building of a mine.
In Colombia, mining and environmental laws are unclear and conflicting. Local communities are often hostile to mining, particularly by foreign companies, because it is seen as competition for agricultural land and a potential source of pollution.
Although it is doubtful that a local referendum against mining would have any legal force, popular sentiment against the mine would make it difficult for AngloGold to operate.
According to local Colombian media, a vote held on Saturday among residents of the town of Cajamarca in Tolima, 14km from where AngloGold’s La Colosa project is located, showed 6,165 people voted no to the mine against about 100 who voted yes.
AngloGold vice-president: group communications Chris Nthite said the group was “respectful of any legal means by which citizens can participate in the responsible use of their country’s natural resources”. It believed responsible mining would be an important engine of growth for Colombia’s economy over the long term.
The group would evaluate the result of the vote, “while continuing the often painstaking work required to build consensus around the creation of a modern, environmentally responsible gold mining industry in Colombia”.
AngloGold was studying three discoveries before making decisions over their future development, he said.
According to the annual report, these are La Colosa, Gramalote and Nuevo Chaquiro.
La Colosa is a 600km² concession in the Andes, which could become Colombia’s biggest gold mine.
It has a mineral resource of about 28-million ounces of lowgrade gold, which is likely to be mined from open pits.
This is not the first news of popular opposition to La Colosa. A delegation from Colombia visited SA in 2016. Their concerns ranged from AngloGold’s use of the Colombian army to provide security at the La Colosa site to the use of agricultural land for mining.
AngloGold’s shares were trading 1% higher at R148.20 on Tuesday on a stronger gold price and weaker rand/dollar rate, but later reversed direction to end the day softer.