BOGOTA, Oct 26 (Reuters) - AngloGold Ashanti Ltd's Quebradona copper project in Colombia will be delayed by theshelving of an environmental permissioning process, a companyspokesperson said on Tuesday.
Colombia's environmental licensing authority announced thedecision to shelve the request - rather than accept or reject it- on Monday. The company needs to be officially notified of a decision soit can understand why it was taken, the spokesperson said,before it can prepare a new request. The project did not yethave a start day, but will be delayed, they added.
The decision was based on technical considerations includingthe definition of the project's area of influence, hydrological,geo-technical and hydro-geological issues, and considerationsrelated to the disposal of mining residue, the ANLA said,without providing further details.
"Archiving is a decision which means the authority thinks itis not possible to make an in-depth declaration about therequest for licensing and allows space to once again present arequest," AngloGold said in a statement on Tuesday.
The environmental license is the final permission theproject needs before going ahead, it added.
The exploration in Jerico, in Antioquia province, hasalready faced local opposition similar to efforts that forcedthe company to abandon a $2 billion gold project in the countryin 2017.
Exploration work at Quebradona was briefly halted in 2019before a provincial environmental authority said it couldcontinue.
The shelving of AngloGold's request sends a bad message toforeign investors, the Colombian Mining Association said in astatement late on Monday, and will prevent the investment ofsome 5.2 trillion pesos ($1.4 billion) and the creation of atleast 3,000 jobs during the construction phase.
($1 = 3,769.98 Colombian pesos)
(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by David Holmes)