New "Guinea" Leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara Shutters all Mining Contracts, Stops Gold Production

The new military leader of Guinea, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, almost immediately after taking control of the country in a coup, announced he was blocking all existing mining contracts and would start to renegotiate them.

Just hours after the death of President Lansana Conte late Monday, the coup began.

According to Camara, production in gold mines has already been stopped, and there'll be "no more extraction until further notice."

Along with gold, there are significant deposits of iron, nickel and diamonds in the country. Guinea also is the world's largest exporter of bauxite. In 2007 uranium deposits were found in the country as well.