Monday 18th February 2008
Gambia holds Carnegie man
Carnegie Minerals says police in The Gambia have detained Charlie Northfield, the company’s recently appointed mining engineer.
AIM-quoted Carnegie, based in Western Australia, says the Gambian authorities allege it has been commercially mining titanium, iron ore and uranium from its mineral sands licence. The company ‘strongly refutes’ these charges and says it is ‘working closely’ with the UK Foreign Office to secure the release of Northfield, who is British.
According to Carnegie, titanium and iron oxide are components of mineral sands, such as ilmenite, which it has a licence to mine. The company says ‘trace amounts’ of uranium do occur in the Gambian mineral sands, but argues they cannot be economically extracted and therefore ‘have no commercial value’.
Chaired by Australian entrepreneur Alan Burns and run by managing director Alan Hopkins, Carnegie has already had its licence in The Gambia suspended because of this dispute, which local sympathisers suggest is connected with the politics of the region. The company maintains that its agreement with The Gambian government provides for independent arbitration in London of any disputes that arise.
Observers believe Carnegie now sees better long-term prospects from its earlier-stage projects in the neighbouring West African state of Senegal. Its shares, which reached 11.75p in 2006, have now fallen to 2.25p, valuing the company at a mere £1.2 million, and are unlikely to bounce very far until this issue can be sorted out.
Growth Company Investor subscribers have full access to all our AIM and small-cap share recommendations. To subscribe today with a half-price offer, and gain immediate access to all the recommendations, click here.
Comments [0]
User Comments
There are currently no comments on this post.
Related Articles
Related sections
Interesting links
|
