GIADEC selects strategic partner for alumina refinery, bauxite mine
Ghana has made another giant step towards realising the vision of building an integrated Aluminium industry with the selection of a strategic partner, Mytilineos Energy & Metals, for the construction of an alumina refinery and the development of a mine at Nyinahin-Mpasaaso.
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The Greek-founded multinational company is to ensure the two projects known as Project 3A, contribute to the production of a minimum of five million tonnes of bauxite and about two million tonnes of alumina annually.
Founded in Greece in 1990, MYTILINEOS Energy & Metals, the industrial and energy multinational company, is publicly listed on the Athens Stock Exchange.
With an extensive presence across five continents and operations spanning 40 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Australia, the partner has firmly established itself as a prominent player in the global energy and metals market.
Still going
After the signing ceremony of the agreement between the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) and Mytilineos Energy & Metals in Accra last Friday, the President stated that in spite of the considerable efforts by various governments, Ghana had not attained the full potential of an integrated aluminium industry.
President Akufo-Addo mentioned the hard work of Dr Kwame Nkrumah with the construction of the Akosombo Dam and the establishment VALCO and former President Kufuor’s acquisition of the VALCO smelter.
He commended GIADEC for its achievements so far that includes the agreement with Rockshore as its strategic partner to develop one of four projects under the integrated aluminium industry and other developments.
The President said to ensure that GIADEC’s mandate was achieved, there had been good progress on the Western Railway line which had been extended from Kojokrom through Huni Valley and also the port infrastructure which had been completed for the handling of bulk cargo such as bauxite and alumina.
President Akufo-Addo indicated he was aware of GIADEC’s commitment to world-class environmental standards which informed the choice of their selected partner for project 3A and charged all agencies to uphold the national and global environmental socio-performance standards.
Industrialisation
President Akufo-Addo said the integrated project had a huge potential for industrialisation and transformation and added that once we drove the development of the upstream value chain, the impact of the development of a viable downstream sector was more relevant.
He said as an indigene of Kyebi, he was hoping that soon a similar announcement would be made for the development of the Kyebi project known as Project 3B.
That project is on hold due to a legal issue.
Step
The Minister of Mines and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, said Project Two was progressing steadily with the completion of a mineral resource estimation which indicated a much more significant deposit of bauxite compared with what the historical data held.
He said as the world transitioned to green energy, bauxite and other green minerals had become critical to facilitate the transition; therefore, building an integrated aluminium industry was desirable and absolutely necessary to spur industrialisation, create prosperity for the people and contribute to the global fight against climate change.
Mr Jinapor said the government was positioning the country to exploit and reap the benefits of the full value chain of the minerals and that the laws governing mining in the country had been invoked to ensure that bauxite would not be exported in its raw state from the country to promote integrated aluminium industry in Ghana.
GIADEC
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GIADEC, Michael Ansah, said the commitment of the corporation to mining with purpose was underlined by its adherence to local and international environmental standards.
He said they had established an active environment working group to drive compliance and that biodiversity and hydrology studies had been completed while other studies were ongoing.
Those, Mr Ansah added, would guide the development of action plans that ensured responsible mining methods were practised, leveraging technology and best practices.
“We are developing our downstream capability and are collaborating with the government and industry players.
We have set up a dedicated industrialisation working group to support policies and plans that will promote the growth of a dynamic downstream industry,” Mr Ansah added.
GIADEC is executing four projects for the realisation of an integrated aluminium industry.
It is executing its mandate in partnership with key strategic investors.
Projects
Project One is the expansion of the existing mine at Awaso to increase production from one million tonnes to five million tonnes per annum and the building of a refinery.
Project Two is the development of a mine at Nyinahin-Mpasaaso with a production capacity of 5 million tonnes per annum and a refinery solution.
Project Three is the development of a mine at Kyebi, a second mine at Nyinahin-Mpasaaso, each with a production capacity of up to five million tonnes per annum, and the building of a refinery.
Project Four is the modernisation and expansion of the VALCO smelter to improve efficiency and increase capacity.
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