Azumah Resources Ghana has rejected reports suggesting Engineers & Planners (E&P) has failed to comply with a court order relating to the disputed Black Volta Gold Project, describing the publications as inaccurate and maintaining that E&P lawfully acquired the project under a $100 million agreement.

The response follows reports on the ongoing dispute between E&P and a group of former investors identified as IGIC PTY, Cangol PTY, and Azumah Resources Australia Ltd over ownership and control of the Black Volta and Sankofa gold concessions in Ghana's Upper West Region.

In a statement issued on Thursday, July 9 and signed by Noel Addo, Chairman, Azumah Resources Ghana Ltd, the company argued that there is no order by either the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal or the High Court in London requiring the Black Volta Project to be handed over to the former investors.

“There is no order by any Arbitration Tribunal or High Court ordering that the Black Volta Project be handed over to the former investors (i.e. IGIC PTY, Cangol PTY and Azumah Resources Australia Ltd). We challenge those behind the publication of this falsehood to produce any order or award which requires that the Black Volta Project should be handed over to the former investors.”

The company further asserted that because the Government of Ghana leased the mineral rights to local companies, no court or tribunal can order those rights to be transferred to another person contrary to the 1992 Constitution.

The company however acknowledged that the former investors had obtained an ex parte enforcement order from the High Court in England but said the order is currently being challenged by E&P and is not enforceable until that application has been determined.

According to Azumah, E&P has already filed an application to set aside the order, while Azumah itself has filed evidence supporting that application.

"The High Court of England is yet to set a date for the hearing of the application to set aside the said order," the company said.

Azumah further stated that the Black Volta Project remains under the control of Azumah Resources Ghana, Upwest Resources Ltd and Phoenix Resources Ltd, the three Ghanaian companies that hold the mining leases granted by the Government of Ghana. The company also disputed suggestions that the ICC tribunal questioned E&P's acquisition of the project.

Instead, it cited part of the tribunal's September 2025 interim award in which the tribunal declined, at that stage of the proceedings, to order the reversal of changes to company shareholding, director appointments or other corporate decisions pending the final determination of the arbitration.
Azumah argues that this effectively left E&P's acquisition of the shares intact while the arbitration continues.

The company also rejected suggestions that the $100 million transaction related only to equity.
According to Azumah, the 2023 Framework Agreement provided for E&P to acquire both the debt and equity interests held by the foreign investors in the companies that own the project.

It further stated that the parties subsequently negotiated a settlement agreement confirming that the $100 million represented payment for both the debt and the shares.

According to Azumah, E&P subsequently paid the full purchase price and returned funds held in the Ghanaian bank accounts of the project companies to the foreign investors.

The foreign investors, however, subsequently initiated fresh claims before the ICC seeking additional payments beyond those agreements, Azumah said.