Ashanti seeks opportunities

Ghana’s major gold producer, Ashanti Goldfields, plans to expand into other African countries via a new subsidiary, Ashanti Exploration.

Nick Laffoley, head of Ashanti Exploration, told Knight-Ridder Financial News that the company will spend up to US$15 million this year to establish a presence in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Zimbabwe and Mali.

Offices have already been set up in the former two countries and are planned in the latter two.

In Mali, Ashanti Exploration plans to take over a financially beleaguered open-pit mine and to offer technical and managerial expertise to state-owned mining operations.

Malian President Alpha Oumar Konare visited Ghana in late January with a 19-member delegation, including Mines Minister Cheikna Kiawara, in order to hold talks with Ashanti management.