Community and Gold Mining Company Reach Historic Agreement After Six Years of Mediation
Photo Credit: CAO, 2024
After six years of a CAO-facilitated dispute resolution process, a final agreement was reached in September 2024 between community members from Area One, Kintinian, Guinea, supported by international and national NGOs, and Société AngloGold Ashanti de Guinée S.A. (SAG), a mining company and IFC sub-client. This final agreement resolves a complaint filed to CAO in 2017 regarding community resettlement due to the expansion of the Siguiri gold mine.
In the lead up to the final agreement, the parties reached several interim agreements over the years on issues such as access to water, schooling, respect for human rights, consultation and information sharing, compensation and livelihood restoration in 2019; rental allowances and construction of a market in 2022; improvement of the health center in 2023; and maintenance and improvement of roads in 2024.
The final agreement includes individual compensation for families affected by the resettlement process that will be provided directly by the company, and the rest will be used to establish a Sustainable Development Fund. This Fund will finance projects aimed at enhancing the livelihoods and living standards of the Area One community. IFC has agreed, in principle, to provide technical support for the identification and assessment of the feasibility of these projects.
“CAO provided a platform and tools for the company and the community to engage in a constructive dialogue, as well as a space to channel parties’ goodwill into formal agreements. Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to collaborate and foster a sustainable relationship moving forward,” stated Janine Ferretti, CAO Director-General.
CAO will monitor the implementation of the final agreement for two years.
