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Canadian-owned mine at Ndassima seized by Russian mercenaries in Africa, is helping fund the war in Ukraine
JOSEPH COPPOLINO
OTTAWA
SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 2, 2024
FOR SUBSCRIBERS
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/res...9f8d2f6209df0ce4d0a9e066&width=600&quality=80
A Canadian-owned gold mine in central Africa has emerged as a key source of financing for Russia’s global military operations, leaving its owners fighting for compensation.
Four years after its biggest African gold mine was seized by Russian mercenaries, Vancouver-based Axmin Inc. is seeking a cash settlement and a possible share of the mine’s royalties from the government of the Central African Republic (CAR), which allegedly allowed the mercenaries to grab the mine.
The U.S. Treasury Department says Axmin’s mine at Ndassima in the CAR has become a key producer of financing for the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-linked military contractor, and its operations in Ukraine and Africa. The mine has an estimated value of US$1-billion to US$2.8-billion.
When rebels captured the mine from Axmin after war erupted in the CAR in 2012, the company abandoned its operations and declared force majeure. Six years later, the Wagner Group arrived in the country under an agreement to fight the rebels and provide security for the government.
In 2020, Wagner troops seized control of the mine, and it was placed under a Wagner-affiliated company, Midas Ressources, which is based in the CAR.
Axmin says it valued the mine at US$340-million in 2011. But a decade later it was worth US$2.8-billion, according to a CAR government document cited by The Sentry, a U.S.-based research organization, in a report last year. Some reports say it is producing almost US$300-million in annual revenue for Wagner.
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Midas last June, accusing it of being “engaged in illicit gold dealings to fund the Wagner Group to sustain and expand its armed forces, including in Ukraine and Africa.”
The mine at Ndassima contains gold valued at more than US$1-billion, the department said, adding that the Russian mercenaries have prevented the government from inspecting the mine. It and other Wagner assets in the CAR have become “key to financing Wagner’s operations in the CAR and beyond.”
2012 - Canadian owned mine seized by local rebels and forced to cease operations.
2018 - local government hires Wagner mercenaries to clear out the rebels
2020 - Wagner seizes the mine
2020 - Wagner starts operating the mine for its own benefit, independent of both the local government and the Canadian owners.
2024 - Wagner investing profits in operations in Ukraine and the Sahara that support Russian national interests.
At any point in that time line was there an opportunity for the Canadian government to intervene militarily in support of both national and international interests? Somewhere between 2012 and 2018 where the local government was struggling with local rebels and ultimately felt the need to hire mercenaries to support them?
How about Canada offering a Company to secure the mine site in 2012 when the threat was local rebels.? It would probably take a Battle Groups or even a Brigade to achieve the necessary effect against Wagner today.
Nations have interests.