Business Development Director, Mr. Emmanuel Erskine has addressed recent claims surrounding the acquisition of Azumah Resources Ghana Ltd by E&P.
In a press release dated July 8, 2025, Mr. Erskine clarified what he described as “a commercial transaction being mischaracterized by misinformation and politically motivated commentary.”
“The government of Ghana granted a lease to Azumah Resources Ghana Ltd back in 1992. For 30 years, the Australian-owned company did very little with it and racked up over $5 million in debt to the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Minerals Commission,” Mr. Erskine stated.
He explained that due to financial and operational challenges, as well as political instability in neighbouring Burkina Faso, the owners of Azumah offered to sell the concession to E&P in May 2023 for $100 million—despite its assessed value being under $80 million.
“E&P took the risk. We signed the agreement in October 2023 and began managing the mine’s operations in November that year.
“From that moment, E&P took full responsibility, including paying salaries and running costs up until June 30, 2025,” he explained.
Mr. Erskine pushed back against claims that the deal was influenced by government actors or timed to coincide with political events. “It is not true that E&P only signed the deal after the elections.
“The agreement was signed in October 2023. Neither the President nor his appointees had anything to do with this deal or its financing,” he added.
He also addressed the dispute sparked by Azumah director James Wallbank, who allegedly attempted to increase the sale price to $300 million after gold prices rose.
E&P, he said, rejected the new demand and initiated arbitration proceedings while also securing a court order in June 2024 to maintain the terms of the original agreement.
“The High Court ruled that the termination attempt by Azumah had no effect. Yet Azumah continued to accept payments from E&P even in June 2025—long after the supposed termination,” he said, questioning the legitimacy of a letter disassociating Azumah from a signing ceremony, which he claimed was authored not by Azumah directors, but by a London-based PR agency.
On the financing front, Mr. Erskine confirmed that the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has officially agreed to provide E\&P with the $100 million needed to complete the transaction.
“Let’s be clear—this is not politics. This is a historic commercial achievement: the first time a wholly owned Ghanaian company is acquiring a large-scale mining operation.
“All this noise from Bright Simons and James Wallbank is just an attempt to block financing and derail progress,” he asserted.
Looking forward, he said E&P had already obtained the required No Objection Letter from the Minerals Commission and would proceed with mine development, targeting the first production within 36 months.
“Ghanaians must support their own. Let’s not allow mercenaries to distract us from this transformational milestone. God bless our homeland Ghana,” Mr. Erskine concluded.
