Career Biography

Araba directs the legal strategy for AngloGold Ashanti’s operations in Ghana and Guinea, overseeing a portfolio of three mines with a combined annual revenue of $1.8bn. She is responsible for navigating the region’s regulatory framework, managing critical sovereign interfaces to safeguard their licences to operate. In 2025, Araba led the legal response to operational crises, including TSF-related incidents and a significant security incursion at the Obuasi mine. Beyond risk mitigation, Araba operates as a commercial enabler securing critical agreements, and notably, successfully defending the company’s private mining assets in Guinea against an attempted state re-classification. With an objective of institutionalising cost discipline, Araba led an initiative that has reduced regional legal spend by 40%.

Beyond legal advisory, Araba acts as the region’s ‘assurance gate’, providing the final risk validation for business-critical decisions. Leadership credits her with operating as a de facto country lead during critical periods, personally leading Government negotiations to secure tenure and business continuity.

A dual-qualified lawyer (Ghana and England & Wales), she previously held senior legal roles at Newmont, where she served as legal counsel to Newmont’s Africa regional leadership, and at Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah, where her instructions included advising the Government of Ghana on the landmark establishment of the Minerals Income Investment Fund and acting as lead country counsel on various mine acquisitions.