New book ‘102 Things to Do with a Hole in the Ground‘ spotlights global reclamation projects
Stories of reinvented coal mining regions, regenerated communities and rebuilt ecosystems are told in a new book published this month.
Randgold Resources (LON:RSS) is not happy with its tax bill of 23 billion CFA francs ($46.5 million) and it’s pleading with the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) for help.
The west-African state of Mali initially asked for 43 billion but Randgold says the new amount still violates the original mining agreement the company signed, Reuters reports.
After failed ministerial-level negotiations, the two sides will settle their dispute in an international arbitration court.
The contentious figures relate to tax payments on foreign employee salaries between 2008 and 2010.
“The problem is that there are taxes which have been created since the signing of the agreement…,” Mahamadou Samake, a regional manager for Randgold told Retuers. “For us, based on our convention, we are not liable for what is being asked of us.”
Samake added that “the state should not see this as a hostile act.”
In its last Q2 report the gold miner reported a 47% profit drop compared with the same quarter in 2012.
However, unlike some miners who are looking to sell-off non-core assets, Randgold is actually interested in purchasing and expanding, the company noted in its Q2.
Creative Commons image by: Mat Honan
