BY: Morris Ogbetey
A high-powered delegation comprising mostly the new Board Members of the Ghana Bauxite Company (GBC) led by its able Executive Chairman, Mr. Isaac Ofori Poku, has participated in this year’s 2022 Bauxite and Alumina Conference held this week in the USA, in faraway Miami.
The delegation led by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, also the Member of Parliament, MP, for Damongo Constituency, Samuel Abu Jinapor used the platform to woo potential investors in Bauxite mining and further made a strong case for the need to establish a Bauxite refinery in Ghana.
The trip was fully sponsored by the Ghana Bauxite Company under the able leadership and the ever visionary Executive Chairman Mr. Isaac Ofori Poku.
The GBC also sponsored GIADEC headed by its CEO Michael Ansah and also to be part of the trip so that it will make up a team of mining Bauxite as well as refinery.
Also in attendance were the Director of Ports Takoradi, Captain Ebenezer Afadzi and Dr. Kingsley Antwi-Boasiako, the Head of Marketing, Takoradi Port.
The GBC has been producing metallurgical grade bauxite which is known as trihydrate sweetener bauxite for over 80 years and recently Bosai Mineral Group sold its 80 percent shares in GBC to a new Ghanaian consortium.
GBC produces high quality trihydrate bauxite with typical alumina (Al2O3) content of 52% and low silica of 1.5%.
The GBC under the new Board and the new management is poised to ramp up production from 1.2 Million metric tonnes per annum currently to 5 million metric tonnes annually starting from the year 2023.
It is estimated that there are 900 million tonnes of bauxite minerals across three main locations in Ghana, namely Awaso in the Western Region – 60 million, Nyinahin in the Ashanti Region -700 million and Kibi in the Eastern Region -160 million.
Ghana is expected to witness a $10 billion boost in its economy with government’s plan of exploiting bauxite and aluminum reserves into the integrated aluminum industry.
According to the Executive Board Chairman of the Ghana Bauxite Company, government has successfully embarked on expansion projects at the Takoradi Ports and Harbour to admit large vessels to be able to do smooth loading of 200,000 metric tonnes of Bauxite within three days for exports.
He said this would also support the foreign exchange inflows into the country to save our fledgling local currency against the major foreign currencies.
The Minister Abu Jinapor in his address threw light on the activities of the President’s vision to locally refine Ghana’s Bauxite.
Mr Abu Jinapor also invited Offtakers to patronize Ghana’s high quality and very rich Bauxite.
He said as a recyclable metal, Bauxite-turned Aluminum is a perfect foundation for electric vehicles, aeroplanes and electronics, paving the way towards a circular economy.
He assured investors that Ghana was and indeed ready for business.
“With her open society, vibrant economy, resilient democratic institutions, respect for individual liberties and the rule of law, and where the principles of democratic accountability are ingrained into her body politic – Ghana is ready for business.”
“We are determined to work relentlessly to ensure that his vision comes into fruition. For over eight decades, Ghana has made several efforts to establish and maintain an integrated aluminum industry.
Also present at the Conference were top diplomats, industry captains, ministers of state, including Guinean Minister for Mines and Geology, Mr. Moussa Mogassouba.
