Integrated Aluminium, partners sign agreement on bauxite production
The Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) has signed an agreement with Rocksure International, a construction and mining support company, for the development of bauxite mines at Nyinahin-Mpasaaso in the Ashanti Region.
The agreement also includes refining the bauxite into aluminium.
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Dubbed: “Project Two”, it forms part of four integrated projects being developed by GIADEC.
The four projects are the expansion of the Awaso mines and establishment of a refinery, the development of mines at Nyinahin and Mpasaaso and a refinery, the development of mines at Kyebi, along with another mine at Nyinahin-Mpasaaso with a finery, and the modernisation and expansion of the VALCO smelter to improve efficiency for increased production.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo witnessed the signing of the agreement after the launch of GIADEC in Accra last Tuesday evening.
The event was attended by the ministers of Trade and Industry and Information, Messrs Alan Kyerematen and Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, respectively.
Others were the board members of GIADEC, representatives of mining communities and the staff and management of affiliated institutions.
Before the launch, the President had been conducted round the offices of GIADEC, located in the Export Trade House, the same building hosting the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.
Project Two
The agreement with Rocksure International is for the development of one of the two new mines to be built in the Nyinahin-Mpasaaso area to feed a refinery to be established in the country.
Rocksure International will undertake exploration and mineral resource estimate (MRE) before the construction of the mines.
Communities close to the bauxite deposits are Nyinahin, Kyekyewere and Mpasaaso.
President Akufo-Addo said the development of an integrated aluminium industry was necessary for the transformation of the economy, adding that “it is at the heart of our industrial transformation agenda”.
He said the implementation of the projects would lead to the creation of business ventures, reduce reliance on the importation of aluminium products and ensure job creation.
According to him, aluminium was the metal of the future because research had found that it was an electric vehicle game-changer.
He, however, said the success of the venture would depend on a reliable railway infrastructure and, therefore, directed the ministers of Railway Development and Finance to work towards the realisation of the Western and Eastern Railway projects.
President Akufo-Addo also said it was important that mining activities were conducted in a responsible manner, and, therefore, urged the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a biodiversity and hydrology study of the Atiwa Forest Reserve to advise the government on the way foward.
Support
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Abu Jinapor, said the project would support automobile assembling plants such as Volkswagen, Toyota, Nissan and Sinotruck and other industries that relied on aluminium for production in the country.
For his part, the CEO of GIADEC, Mr Michael Ansah, said global trends indicated a growing demand for aluminium and related products, adding that the vision of the company was to be the leading integrated aluminium establishment in Africa.
