Publication of the Report and Recommendation of the CTRTCM on the Licenses and Mining Convention Obtained by VBG
Statement of the Comité Technique de Revue des Titres et Conventions Miniers (CTRTCM)
Unofficial Translation (See original in French)
CONAKRY, April 9, 2014 - The Technical Committee for the Review of Licenses and Mining Agreements (Comité Technique de Revue des Titres et Conventions Miniers (CTRTCM)) has issued, on March 28, a recommendation concerning the mining licenses and the mining convention obtained by VBG to the Strategic Committee (Comité Stratégique).
It should be borne in mind that this recommendation by the CTRTCM does not constitute a decision by the government. The purpose of the CTRTCM is to review licenses and mining contracts through a transparent administrative process in which the investor is entitled to participate. At the conclusion of its review and in conformity with Guinean law, the CTRTCM issues a recommendation to the Strategic Committee, which in turn issues an opinion (an « avis ») to the decision making authorities with respect to the matter—which in the case of VBG would be the President of the Republic and the Minister of Mines and Geology.
As an indication of the republic’s commitment to transparency, the Minister of Mines and Geology has, furthermore, authorized the CTRTCM to make public its recommendation. The CTRTCM notes, however, that the recommendation does not reflect the views of either the Strategic Committee nor of the decision-making authorities of the Republic of Guinea.
The CTRTCM was constituted for the purposes of reinforcing transparency in the development of the mining sector in the Republic of Guinea consistent with the principles established in the new Mining Code. In this respect, the CTRTCM is currently in the process of a systematic review of outstanding licenses and mining contracts to test whether their provisions, as well as the means by which they were acquired and the performance of obligations contained in them, conform with the law.
The CTRTCM is being assisted in its analysis by a number of experts and international organizations. In particular, the review work undertaken by CTRTCM is supported by international legal counsel available through the financial support of the African Development Bank as well as the African Legal Support Facility.
The review of licenses and contracts is based on a rigorous review of the conditions in which they were obtained and of the performance of these rights. In so doing, the CTRTCM guarantees the rights of mining companies and insures them a fair hearing. In this instance, the CTRTCM has for more than 18 months conducted a written and oral procedure involving VBG, the holder of the licenses and mining convention under review, and has carefully taken into account its observations on the specific evidence which has been communicated to it. VBG was authorized to transmit this evidence to its minority shareholder, BSGR, so that it could, if it deemed this useful, also offer its observations.
The procedure applied to VBG was identical to that applied to other licenses and contracts which are the subject of review.
At the conclusion of this process and on the basis, notably, of specific evidence the authenticity of which is not in doubt in the opinion of the CTRTCM, and which is disputed solely by VBG’s minority shareholder, which, however, failed to introduce even an iota of actual evidence to support its contentions – the CTRTCM has concluded that a number of items of proof exist, which are clear and corroborative, and establish with a sufficient certitude the existence of acts of corruption connected to the issuance of the licenses and the mining convention obtained by VBG. Moreover, the CTRTCM considers that such irregularities affect the validity of the licenses and of the mining convention. Consequently, the CTRTCM has recommended to the Strategic Committee that it in turn recommend to the decision-making authorities that they withdraw the licenses and rescind the mining convention obtained by VBG with respect to the Zogota and Simandou 1 and 2 deposits.
The recommendation of the CTRTCM concerning the licenses and mining convention held by VBG and which were the subject of the CTRTCM’s review is, with the agreement of the Minister of Mines and Geology, placed at the disposition of the public on the web site of the CTRTCM (www.contratsminiersguinee.org) for purposes of assuring the complete transparency of the review process.
The CTRTCM’s recommendation to the Strategic Committee is accompanied by a report and an annex which serve to clarify the findings of fact and conclusions of law which underlie this recommendation.
It is to be stressed in any event that these documents of the CTRTCM must not in any manner be interpreted as constituting either a decision nor an opinion of the Strategic Committee. To be clear, the CTRTCM only issues a recommendation for the Strategic Committee, and that Committee itself issues only an opinion for the use of the decision-making authorities in this matter, which are the President of the Republic and the Minister of Mines and Geology.
To read or download the report and annex materials (French):