Guinea to re-evaluate British firm's mining permits over corruption

Guinea government plans to re-evaluate mining permits acquired by a British firm, Sable Mining, which was recently accused of corruption.

In a statement released over the weekend, Guinea's Mines and Geology Minister Abdoulaye Magassouba said he had asked judicial authorities to examine "circumstances under which mining permits were acquired by Sable Mining, a firm registered in the British Virgin Islands, since its first entry into Guinea's mining sector in 2010.

The minister said the decision follows a recent report by a British NGO, Global Witness, which contains a series of corruption accusations against Sable Mining.

In 2010, Sable Mining obtained a licence to mine iron ore in southeast Guinea, near the Guinean border with Liberia.

The minister said a review of all mining contracts and an examination of the 19 mining conventions signed before 2010 helped to unearth a series of violations and irregularities that led to the withdrawal of 800 permits for exploration of several minerals.

Due to the desire to maintain transparency in the mining sector, Guinea's mining ministry has vowed to monitor conditions under which companies get mining licences across the Guinean territory.

"Guinea remains committed, with support from President Alpha Conde, in the fight against corruption in the mining sector, which began in December 2010," Magassouba said.

After having acceded to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in 2005, Guinea was declared as having conformed to EITI standards in 2014, with the establishment of "transparency and good governance" system in the country's mining sector.

Source: XINHUA