Cassius Mining takes Ghana to court for US$277M

Cassius Mining (ASX: CMD) is taking Ghana to court in London seeking US$277 million in damages for alleged contract breaches that killed the company’s Gbane gold project and may involve a Chinese company. 

The Australian miner’s claim, witness statements and independent expert reports have all been filed at the London Court for International Arbitration, a panel for disputes between companies and countries, according to a Dec. 23 release.

“Ghana’s actions, including its failure to renew Cassius’s prospecting licence, has resulted in Cassius being deprived of the entire value and profits of its gold project in Ghana,” the company said. The claim amount represents “lost profits and damages for the loss of opportunity to develop, establish and benefit from a producing gold mine in its licensed area,” Cassius said. 

The 13.8-sq.-km Gbane in northeastern Ghana lies in the Talensi district next to the producing Shaanxi gold mine operated by China-controlled Earl International Group. Ghana cancelled the Gbane project in 2019 citing “constitutional non-compliance” for not being properly ratified under a new law.

The country has yet to file documents to the tribunal, according to Cassius. The court and Ghana’s Land and Natural Resources Ministry didn’t immediately reply to emails from The Northern Miner seeking comment outside of regular business hours.  

China dispute   

The court challenge is part of a long-running dispute with Earl International. Cassius alleges it dug hundreds of metres underground into its concession and plundered tens of millions of dollars in gold from its veins, according to investigations by the Sydney Morning Herald and a local journalist. Cassius says Ghana did nothing about the encroachment. 

Earl International had also been accused of taking extreme measures to keep small-scale miners off the Shaanxi site, including the release of toxic gas that once killed 16 people. Since 2013, it is alleged that more than 60 miners have been killed in the company’s mines.

Cassius is tapping AMC mining consultants of Perth, Australia and Washington D.C.-based Secretariat, a company with expertise in arbitration, to help back its claim.

“We look forward to progressing the case and achieving a successful outcome for the benefit of shareholders and the company, whether that be at hearing or any earlier potential settlement,” David Chidlow, managing and technical director, said in company release.

Shares in Cassius Mining have gained since the filing to A1.3¢ apiece from 0.9¢, valuing the company at A$9.2 million ($8.2 million).