Allocated gold at Bank of England drops 755 tonnes

The environmental damage has triggered a wave of protest in the capital Accra demanding a ban on all small-scale mining operations in places like Tarkwa.

Bids came in from 12 regions across Australia, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, the Middle East, Singapore and North America, Rio said.

Sumitomo is slated to acquire a 30% equity share of the Winu project in Australia.

Springpole represents one of Canada's largest undeveloped gold projects.