A Spanish firm, CRAU, has partnered with an Australian mining firm, MEGADO, to prospect for gold ore in Southern Oromia region.

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum on Wednesday announced that it will release the inquiry report on the alleged environmental pollution caused by the MIDROC Gold Mine in the Lega Dembi locality, Oromia Regional State. 

The Council of Ministers is scheduled to approve two mining licenses presented by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum today.

The Canadian Embassy in Addis Ababa is going to finance the environmental impact assessment on the controversial Lega Dembi Gold Mine run by MIDROC Gold.

The minerals export earnings, which has been declining in the past consecutive years, fetched an all-time low revenue of USD 130 million in the 2017-2018 fiscal year that ended last June. 

Following the controversy over alleged environment pollution near the Legadembi gold mine, MIDROC Gold requested the Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas to expedite the study on the matter.

The controversy surrounding MIDROC Gold, the first large scale gold mining company in Ethiopia, reached a climax point this week when the Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas (MMPNG) decided to suspend the mining license of the company in the wake of a public outrage against the company in connection with an alleged environmental pollution.

Members of Parliament (MPs) on Thursday raised their concerns over major development projects and their impact on the environment. Development projects include the Midroc Gold project and soda factories in the Oromia Regional State.

The minerals export sector which was one of the main foreign currency earners until recently is deteriorating further.

A UK mining firm, which is in the process to develop a new gold mine in south west Ethiopia— Kefi Minerals— revealed that its day-to-day activities in Ethiopia remains unaffected after the resignation of the country's Prime Minister sparked political uncertainty last week.