Gold Coast Refinery to set up plant
Gold Coast Refinery Limited, Ghana’s first gold refining company, has begun processes to set up a jewellery manufacturing plant in the next two years.
The plant is expected to make use of raw materials from the main gold refinery plant of the company such as gold, silver and platinum to manufacture jewellery, legal tender coins and other artifacts.
The Managing Director (MD) of the company, Mr Sampson Nortey, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in Accra last Tuesday, said processes had begun with the Ghana Airport Company to acquire land for the setting up of the plant.
“The jewellery manufacturing plant that we want to set up is the second phase of our value addition drive so by the end of the first quarter of 2019, we will start constructing it after we have finalised discussions with the Ghana Airport Company Limited,” he said.
Tour
The MD stated this when the board and officials of the Minerals Commission paid a working visit to the company to acquaint themselves with its operations.
The delegation included the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the commission, Mr Kwaku Addae Antwi-Boasiako, the Chairman of the Minerals Commission Board, Mr S.K. Boafo, and other members of the board.
The head of operation at GCRL, Mr Anil Kansara, and the Head of Engineering, Mr Theophilus Aadjah, took the team round the various departments of the gold refinery plant.
Details of plant
Mr Nortey explained that the setup of the jewellery manufacturing plant would include a jewellery gallery centre, showrooms, and other components where fairs would be organised to market the
He added that arrangements were being made to have a training facility that would help build the capacity of local jewellery makers and give practical training to tertiary students who were into jewellery making.
“We are collaborating with the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) so that the training school we are setting up will help students to have practical training in jewellery making,” he said.
Mr Nortey described the recent issuance of a certification licence to the company to do hallmarking of gold as a feat that would facilitate its expansion drive.
“We are currently producing at about five per cent of our capacity, but with this certification, it means that our integrity in terms of the quality of our gold on the global market will be boosted.
This will help us to increase production to about 25 per cent by the end of 2019,” he said.
Commendation
After the team from the Minerals Commission was conducted around the facilities in the company, Mr Kwaku Addae Antwi-Boasiako was full of commendation for the Gold manufacturing entity.
He said the steps being taken by the company to set up a jewellery plant was a good move that would help boost the economy and create jobs.
“I want to give an assurance that the Minerals Commission will support and collaborate with the GCRL to ensure that the plant is established,” he said.
For his part, Mr Boafo urged the GCRL to be encouraged by the certification that had been given it to do hallmarking of gold to do more in adding value to the resource.
Background
The Gold Coast Refinery Limited (GCRL) is a registered company and subsidiary of the Euroget Group in Egypt.
It is the first company in West Africa and second in Africa after Rand Refinery of South Africa.
The company provides services such as assaying, refining, marketing, sale and export of bullion, vault services, bullion transportation and logistics, as well as capacity building and training for allied technical institutions.
In terms of operational capacity, the assaying laboratory is able to handle over 240 samples a day and produce certified assay results.
The refinery also has the capacity to smelt about 150 kilogrammes (kg) at a time while the chemical line of the refinery has an installed capacity of 600 kg of gold per day in a single and about 180 tonnes per anum.