Azumah Resources Ghana Limited has dismissed media reports claiming that an international arbitration tribunal or a foreign court has ordered the Black Volta Project to be handed back to former foreign investors, insisting that no such ruling exists and describing the reports as false and misleading.
In a statement issued yesterday and signed by the Chairman of Azumah Resources Limited, Noel Addo, the company said the publications grossly misrepresented legal proceedings currently before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Arbitration Tribunal and the High Court in England.
The company assured employees, suppliers, business partners and other stakeholders that the reports did not reflect the true legal position and should therefore be disregarded.
According to Azumah Resources, neither the ICC Arbitration Tribunal nor the High Court in England has issued an order directing that the Black Volta Project be transferred to the former investors – IGIC Pty Limited, Cangol Pty Limited and Azumah Resources Australia Limited.
It further argued that such an order could not lawfully be made because the mineral rights covering the project have been granted by the Government of Ghana to Azumah Resources Limited, Upwest Resources Limited and Phoenix Resources Limited.
The company said Ghana’s 1992 Constitution and its mining laws protect those mineral rights, making it legally impossible for any foreign court or arbitration tribunal to order that the concessions be transferred to another party.
The statement also challenged those behind the reports to produce any court order or arbitral award directing the transfer of ownership, explaining that the only existing court process is an ex parte application filed by the former investors on June 10, 2026, seeking interim relief against Engineers & Planners (E&P).
According to the company, the application sought orders requiring E&P to stop interfering with operations at the Black Volta and Sankofa mine sites, restore access to certain operational assets and return administrative control of the company’s Office 365 email server and domain.
However, Azumah Resources said the ex parte order itself made it clear that E&P was entitled to apply within 14 days to have the order set aside and that it would not become enforceable until that application had been determined.
It disclosed that E&P has already filed an application challenging the order and that the matter remains pending before the High Court in England.
The company added that it has filed its own supporting statement in the proceedings, confirming that all assets associated with the Black Volta Project remain under the custody, possession and control of Azumah Resources Ghana Limited.
It noted that the High Court is yet to fix a hearing date for the application and, therefore, described reports suggesting that E&P had failed to comply with a court order as “inaccurate and misleading.”
Addressing claims over ownership of the project, Azumah Resources said the ICC Arbitration Tribunal had already declined, in an interim award delivered on September 19, 2025, requests to reverse changes relating to shareholding, board appointments and management of the company.
According to the statement, that decision effectively left intact Engineers & Planners’ acquisition of shares in Azumah Resources Ghana Limited and Upwest Resources Limited.
The company also sought to explain the commercial background to the dispute, stating that Engineers & Planners entered into a Framework Agreement in 2023 to acquire and develop the Black Volta Project for US$100 million.
It rejected suggestions that the agreement related solely to equity ownership, insisting that the transaction covered both the debt and equity interests held by the former investors in Azumah Resources Ghana Limited and Upwest Resources Limited.
The statement said the agreement provided that, in exchange for the US$100 million payment, IGIC, Azumah Resources Australia and Cangol would transfer all their interests in the companies, including both loans and shares.
Azumah Resources further disclosed that after disputes emerged, the parties negotiated a settlement agreement reaffirming that the US$100 million represented payment for both debt and equity.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah