Obuasi Mine resumes underground production this month
ANGLOGOLD Ashanti, Obuasi Mine will resume underground production this month following the completion of a review of the area to enhance safety.
The underground mine is known to hold about 30 million ounces of gold, which can be mined over two decades.
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As of October 15, this year, gold was selling for more than $1,700 an ounce on the spot.
According to the Managing Director of AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine, Mr Eric Asubonteng, the increasing pace of production after the mine’s first and second phases of redevelopment was interrupted due to the recent fall of ground in May 2021.
“We expect to reach steady-state production of about 4,000 tonnes per day (tpd) mined and milled by mid-2022.
“Phase three of the project will continue this year up to 2023 to set up the infrastructure needed to sustain production in deeper areas of the mine towards the northern areas into the future,” a statement signed by him said.
Mr Asubonteng thanked President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for “continuing to take interest in the progress of the Obuasi Mine”.
The President visited the mine during his recent tour of the Ashanti Region.
Impact
Elaborating on the impact of the Obuasi redevelopment project, Mr Asubonteng said the Obuasi Mine had, since its return, contributed immensely to the country’s economy and the mine’s host communities.
“Since the inception of the redevelopment project, the mine has spent about $880 million in its operations, with 80 per cent of the money spent on Ghanaian owned companies and businesses,” he said.
He said in line with AngloGold Ashanti’s local content policy, the company had employed 3,859 people, 850 of whom were direct employees, while 3,000 were engaged by contractors, with only two per cent of employees being expatriates.
Mr Asubonteng added that through the company’s social management plan, community projects such as those on the Obuasi campus of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the construction of the 1.3-km Kunka-Dankwa Junction road and a maternity block at the Obuasi Government Hospital had been carried out.
Others included the construction of a training and rehabilitation centre for persons living with disability and the establishment of a three-bed intensive care unit at the hospital, he added.
Appreciation
President Akufo-Addo, who attended a durbar during his visit, expressed appreciation to the management of AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine, for their effort in pulling communities out of poverty by improving livelihoods.
He also encouraged them to focus on the vision of the redevelopment project, which is to deliver a modern mechanised underground mine that will enable AngloGold Ashanti to mine its 30-million ounce ore.
