JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South African gold producer AngloGold Ashanti hopes to meet with the Guinean President on Monday, after it was ordered to close its Siguiri mine last week.

President Moussa Dadid Camara ordered the closure of the mine after a senior official from AngloGold Ashanti did not attend a meeting held with the President on Thursday.

Spokesperson Joanne Jones told Mining Weekly Online that although the company had not yet held a meeting with the President, it had been in continuous discussions with key Guinean Ministers regarding the reopening of the mine.

Jones said that the reopening of the mine could happen within a relatively short time span, as the shut down had been conducted in an orderly manner.

The mine employs some 3 000 people, of which about half were employed on a contractor basis.

For the year ended December 2008, Siguiri delivered an estimated 333 000 oz of gold.

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