Samuel Abu Jinapor
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has paid a working visit to AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine.
Mr Jinapor, who is on a two-day working visit to the Ashanti Region, toured the AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine on Wednesday morning, March 24, 2021.
The visit is to enable the Minister have first-hand information about the workings of AngloGold Ashanti.
He was briefed about the operations of the mine by the Managing Director of AngloGold Ashanti, Eric Asubonteg.
According to Mr Asubonteng, since 2004, Over $1.2 billion has been pumped into the operations of AngloGold Ashanti.
He said AngloGold Ashanti operated within the jurisdiction of one municipality and five districts.
He noted that AngloGold Ashanti continued to be the largest employer in the municipality.
The Managing Director provided a progress update on the redevelopment plan of AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine.
He spoke about the various entities under AngloGold Ashanti such as school and Clinic which he have been turned into autonomous bodies.
Currently, he said AngloGold Ashanti has over 3,000 workers.
Some aspects of the mine’s operations including security, he said, have been outsourced to local Ghanaian companies.
He revealed that the management of AngloGold Ashanti was working to ensure that the Mine begin to produce about 4,000 tons of gold per day, disclosing that currently, the mine’s output was about 2,000 tons of gold per day.
“So it’s real progress on the ground not just talk,” the MD said while pointing out the achievements that have been chalked at AngloGold Ashanti in recent years.
The Minister on his part, commended AngloGold Ashanti for respecting Ghana’s local content policy.
He expressed appreciation to the company for also protecting the environment.
By Melvin Tarlue