President Akufo-Addo
President Akufo-Addo has lauded the effort of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) and its partner, Rocksure International.
This was after the two successfully carried out a Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) on the Nyinahin Block B (Hills 4,5, and 6) of the Nyinahin hills [bauxite reserves] in the Ashanti Region.
The commendation came when the partners, management of GIADEC and Rocksure International, paid a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House Tuesday to formally present a copy of the MRE report to him and to seek his blessings for the second phase of the project execution.
“This is an exceptionally good news today. I congratulate all of you involved in this very important step for the country that is being taken,” was how an obviously elated President Akufo-Addo put it, with an assurance in tow, “I will continue to provide you with the maximum support that you need to make sure that this whole thing becomes a reality.”
He stressed the belief “it will justify completely our thinking, the whole GIADEC concept of using a state vehicle that will bring together the bauxite resources in the country under one roof and therefore strengthen the hand of the entity to enter into such transactions.”
The President said the Rocksure MRE is the first ever to have been conducted on any of Ghana’s bauxite resources since the country had in the past relied on historical estimates and projections.
He, therefore, noted that this bodes well for the Integrated Aluminium Industry as it provides a credible basis for attracting more investors into the industry as well as improving investor confidence in Ghana’s bauxite industry.
In a presentation ahead of the formal submission of the MRE report to the President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GIADEC, Michael Ansah, said the comprehensive MRE exercise carried out by Rocksure International has led to the discovery of a minimum of 375 million metric tonnes of bauxite in the three hills assigned to the company, which is a 50% increase to the previous estimate of 250 million metric tonnes.
“So that is a 50% appreciation and that is [excellent] news. The other side of this is that, having put that whole report together and identifying the resources that we have, the next stages will be how we continue to develop it into a fully bankable project,” he said.
Apart from that, he narrated that “we have developed all the project agreements relating to this; we are finalising all of that and we are going to be establishing a joint venture company that will be owned by the partners, as in Rocksure and GIADEC that will be the entity to execute the development of the mine and the refinery solution.”
Mr. Ansah indicated that GIADEC and Rocksure have also done the feasibility report and the environmental social impact analysis of the Nyinahin area.
According to the GIADEC CEO, “the reason for this [the feasibility report] is, in this era of very clear focus on environmental issues, it is important that [because we are mining in a forest reserve] we carry out this study which will guide how we will develop the mine, how we will ensure that flora, fauna and all the biodiversity issues are properly addressed as well as the hydrology issues.”
According to him, “that report has now been completed. It has been reviewed by the GIADEC board and forms part of what we will be presenting to the Minerals Commission, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other regulatory authorities that will approve the development of the project.”
So far, he said “we are looking at the processes that we have gone through, we have completed the signing, we have completed the mineral resource study [estimates], and we are closing on the other aspects to do with qualifying this whole project for a mining lease. That mining lease will then come before the Cabinet for approval before it is presented to Parliament for ratification.”
Aside that, he said “we are looking to be able to commence the development of that [the mine] next year and the refinery solution is also being developed in tandem.”
“With this, GIADEC and Rocksure are looking at opportunities with external partners to deal with the development of the refinery. That will be a significant one that could be looking at building a two million-tonne alumina refinery here in Ghana, so that is what we’re working on at the moment.
“We have completed the investor engagement processes and with the signing of project three, the international company next month, we will have completed that process that will again lead to the work that we are going to do on the remaining four hills Nyinahin, that is, 7,8,9 and 10,” the GIADEC boss added.
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rocksure International, Kwasi Osei Ofori, expressed appreciation to GIADEC and the government for the support given them throughout the process.
He said the completion of the MRE report gives credence to the President’s long-standing position that when given the chance, Ghanaian companies can compete with their peers in the global space.
Background
In September 2021, GIADEC announced the selection of Rocksure International, a wholly Ghanaian-owned company, as its strategic partner for Project 2, one of four projects that define the Integrated Aluminium Industry (IAI), being executed by GIADEC.
Rocksure International was selected after a rigorous competitive three-round investor engagement process in 2019. The process began with about 40 companies expressing interest. Fourteen (14) companies were shortlisted to progress to round two, of which five (5) advanced to the final round.
Following the official announcement, the company commenced a Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) in Nyinahin Block-B, specifically Hills 4, 5 &6 to validate and define the bauxite resources.
Ghana’s bauxite resources are estimated to be around 900MMT. Bauxite in Ghana is mainly concentrated in three (3) areas, that is, Awaso in the Western-North Region with 60MMT, Kyebi in the Eastern Region with 160 MMT, and Nyinahin in the Ashanti Region with the highest bauxite resources of 700MMT.
The validation of the bauxite resources in parts of the Nyinahin area through an MRE is the first time Ghana is taking steps to validate all of its bauxite resources across the country.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent