AngloGold hit with new setback in $1.4B Quebradona copper project in Colombia

[Mining cart in silver, gold, copper mine]
TomasSereda/iStock via Getty Images

Colombia's National Mining Agency has denied [https://www.mining.com/colombia-deals-blow-to-anglogolds-1-4b-copper-mine/] a request filed by AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AU]) to suspend its contractual obligations for its stalled $1.4 billion Quebradona copper-gold project, adding to doubts about the project's future, Mining.com reported Wednesday.

The agency confirmed it received two requests from AngloGold (NYSE:AU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AU]) this year, and denied both; one request was to extend the exploration phase of the title and the other was to suspend contractual obligations.

The agency said it was "legally contradictory to grant opposing requests simultaneously or consecutively," since AngloGold (AU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AU]) first requested a suspension of contractual obligations and then an extension of the exploration phase; it also ruled the company did not provide sufficient evidence to substantiate the exceptional circumstances of force majeure cited in its application.

To revive the project, AngloGold (AU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AU]) must submit a new environmental impact assessment; the company said it is collecting hydrogeological, hydrological, and geotechnical data deemed necessary for a new application, and aims to file the updated study by 2027.

AngloGold's (AU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AU]) long-term plan for Quebradona has targeted production of 1.4 million metric tons of copper, 1.4 million oz of gold, and 21.6 million oz of silver over two decades.

MORE ON ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI

* AngloGold Ashanti: Efficiency, Growth, And The $4,000 Gold Era [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4829621-anglogold-ashanti-efficiency-growth-and-the-4000-gold-era]
* AngloGold Ashanti Presents at Mining Forum Americas 2025 - Slideshow [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4823369-anglogold-ashanti-plc-au-presents-at-mining-forum-americas-2025-slideshow]
* AngloGold Ashanti: Another Solid Quarter, Poised To Keep Outperforming [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4819532-anglogold-ashanti-another-solid-quarter-poised-to-keep-outperforming]