Several foreign mining companies working in Eritrea, ordered by the government on September 2 to close, are still waiting for explanations, Mines Director General Alem Kibreab said on Wednesday.
”We have told them to wait patiently and they have agreed,” Alem said from Asmara.
These foreign mining companies ”will be the first to know” why they were told to cease their activity.
”I don’t have the answer to why they were closed,” he added.
Among the companies, four are Canadian — Nevsun Resources, Sanu Resources, Sunridge Gold and Northern Mining Explorations.
Nevsun’s chief executive officer John Clarke was in Asmara from September 8 to 16 in an effort ”to get a better understanding of the directive by the Eritrean government to halt all exploration work”, said a statement posted on its website on Monday.
”The government has not provided any clarification of their directive,” Nevsun’s statement said, pointing out that it ”will continue to comply with the government’s directive,” the statement added.
In August, Nevsun had announced discovering high-grade gold and copper during a series of test drillings in the Western Eritrea region of Bisha.
The directive could mean that, following the discovery, the Eritrean government wants to renegotiate the foreign companies’ contracts, several diplomatic sources, who requested anonymity, said in Asmara. – Sapa-AFP