Northern Ashanti Mines director and shareholder Fredrick Okine has alleged that steps to award the company’s disputed mining concession to another party had begun before the company received its lease termination letter.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show with Bernard Avle, Okine said people he described as Chinese visitors had been taken to the site under the supervision of the regional office of the Minerals Commission to inspect the plant and take photographs.
He questioned why such visits were taking place while the company was challenging the termination of its mining lease.
“You don’t just take over with soldiers and then bring Chinese people over to come and look at the plant and take pictures and things like that. This is not right,” he said.
When asked whether the visitors were at the site, Okine confirmed that they had been visiting under the supervision of the regional Minerals Commission office.
He further alleged that the process of awarding the concession to another party had already started before the termination letter was delivered to Northern Ashanti Mines.
“Even before the letter came to us, the processes to award had started,” he said.
Okine described the development as troubling, arguing that the company should have been given an opportunity to resolve the issues surrounding its lease before another party was considered for the concession.
“Someone is trying to reap where they didn’t sow, and it is wrong,” he said.
The director said Northern Ashanti Mines had spent years developing the Konongo project and invested heavily in exploration and a new processing plant in preparation for gold production.
He also said the company had written to the Minerals Commission and the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources seeking clarification over the termination letter it received in April, but had not received the response it wanted.
Okine said the company had now resorted to legal action but remained willing to engage the authorities to reach a settlement.
The allegations about the visits and the possible award of the concession were made by Okine during the interview. The account provided does not include a response from the Minerals Commission or NAIMOS on those specific claims.
