Ethiopia: 32 mining licenses revoked

Ethiopia’s ministry of mines, petroleum and natural gas has revoked mineral exploration and production licenses of 32 companies due to lack of financial capacity and for failure to fulfill their duties, a top government official said.

Due to a lack of results and financial capacity, nine of the companies returned their licenses voluntarily, Mr Gebregziabher explained.

However, licenses of the remaining 23 companies were cancelled due to failure to discharge their duties properly, he said.  Of the companies whose licenses were revoked, seven were for cement raw materials, according Tewodros Gebregziabher, state minister of mines, petroleum and natural gas.