AngloGold Ashanti yesterday responded strongly to allegations made in a report released today by US-based NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) regarding its operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

CEO Bobby Godsell said at a press briefing that the process through which the report had been compiled and published, as well as the claims themselves, were, “unfair, unjust and unhelpful” and that the gold-miner was being “tried in the court of public opinion”.

The 159-page report, “The Curse of Gold,” details how AngloGold Ashanti allegedly developed links with a rebel militia group, the Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI), in return for security and permission to continue its exploration operations, around the town of Mongbwalu, in the north eastern Ituri district of the war-torn African nation.

AngloGold Ashanti admitted that its employees had, on different occasions, paid sums, of $8 000 and $1 000 respectively, to the FNI, but that these were made under physical threat to employees and without the knowledge or consent of AngloGold Ashanti management.

Godsell said that once senior management became aware of these payments, it immediately condemned the actions, informed the DRC government, and began to move its camp out of the area, only returning after consultation with the government and the United Nations Organisation Mission in the DRC (Monuc).

The HRW report also claims that the gold-miner provided, “meaningful financial and logistical support, which in turn resulted in political benefits,“ to FNI.

Reading a statement in response to the allegations, AngloGold Ashanti spokesperson Steve Lenahan said that, when the company embarked on exploration in the area, it was given the “repeated assurance of the DRC government…that it was confident that, with the continuing collaboration of the UN force Monuc” that the peace process in Ituri and the surrounding regions would yield “positive results”.

Further, AngloGold Ashanti had received support from both the government and Monuc that its presence and the proposed development of a profitable gold-mine in the region would have positive socio-economic effects on both the peace process and the surrounding communities.

“At no time has there existed any relationship of any sort (whether voluntary or forced) between AngloGold Ashanti and FNI, and we have never initiated any sort of contact with the group,” Godsell averred.

“If the HRW wants to make these assertions then the burden of proof is on them.” Godsell said that AngloGold Ashanti believed that it should not operate in any region where it could not conduct business with integrity and that the company went into the DRC project, after consultation with the government and the UN body, believing that this would be possible.

In response to questions whether the appropriateness of operating in a region like the DRC (whether or not assistance was provided to rebel groups) could be called into query, Godsell defended the decision by likening the situation to South Africa’s need for investment and economic growth during the years before the 1994 elections, despite obvious political instability.

“On top of that, our own government has repeatedly urged South African companies to invest into the DRC,” he added.

Godsell reiterated a number of times that, while mistakes had obviously been made, the company maintained its position that it had in no way acted in contravention of its business principles, and was determined to maintain the integrity of all its dealings and operations.

Further, measures were being put in place to ensure that the situation never be repeated.

These included the tightening of accounting procedures and financial reporting, as well as a more comprehensive and detailed log of contact of any nature between AngloGold Ashanti employees and groups such as FNI.

A high-level corporate team would also soon visit the DRC to appraise the situation.