Red Rock Resources, a London-based mining company, has withheld its $6.91 million bid for Kenya’s gold mining operations. This comes after the government of Kenya delayed in issuing it with a licence for operating the Migori mines.
The company had expressed interest in the 243 square-kilometre parcel of land in Migori where there are gold deposits. A resource estimate placed gold deposits at the site at 1.2 million ounces that would have a market value of $1.8 (KSh180) billion, based on the current price of about KSh153,000 per ounce. As a result of this, Red Rock Resources placed a bid of $6.91 million for the site.
However, since 2018, they have been waiting for their operational licence in vain.
The final administrative step has been slow in coming, and to Red Rock’s disappointment had not occurred as expected by the time of this report going to print. The directors have, therefore, taken the conservative decision not to write back in these accounts any part of the $6.91 million impairment taken in the June 30, 2015 accounts, pending resolution of the court case.
Update from Red Rock
The East African reports that the process of awarding the licence has dragged on despite approval of the application by the Mining Rights Board (MRB), and the same being uploaded on the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining website.
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