With an estimated bauxite resource base of over 900 million metric tonnes, comprehensive development of an integrated aluminium industry would create nearly 2 million sustainable jobs with an anticipated US$1trillion in total revenue for the country, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Samuel Jinapor has said.
He indicated that the real benefit of the country’s mineral resources lies in
value addition, explaining that while bauxite sells around US$40 to US$60 per
metric tonne, refined bauxite (alumina) however sells for over US$400 per
metric tonne – with primary aluminium produced from alumina going for US$2,000
per metric tonne.
The minister was speaking at a Downstream Aluminium Industry Workshop at Senchi
in the Eastern Region, and noted that building a full-fledged integrated
aluminium industry requires planning and long-term investment with emphasis on
local value addition.
The workshop, hosted by the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation
(GIADEC), started discussions on establishing a policy framework and
implementation plan for the country’s downstream aluminium industry after a
thorough policy master-plan for the upstream sector was formulated.
Mr. Jinapor said Ghana’s failure over the years to put in place a mechanism for
developing this integrated industry has deprived the country of much-needed
revenue that should accrue from these resources.
A fully-integrated aluminium industry, apart from job creation and revenue
generation according to the lands ministry, is also expected to build local
expertise through knowledge and technology transfer; and contribute to
government’s industrialisation agenda and infrastructural development.
Since 2019, GIADEC has been working to leverage opportunities in the sector by
developing a master-plan for the industry which focuses mainly on the upstream
industry – (mining, refining and smelting).
Plans are ongoing to develop three additional mines in Nyinahini, Mpasaaso and
Kyebi, together with modernisation works and retrofitting VALCO to smelt
alumina produced in the country.
The master-plan led to the launch of a 4-project agenda in 2021 to expand the
existing mine at Awaso to increase production from 1.4 million metric tonnes
per year to 5 million tonnes per annum.
The VALCO retrofit is expected to utilise approximately 300,000 tonnes of
aluminium annually. This will be an increase from the 40,000 – 50,000 tonnes
currently produced yearly.
As the host of AfCFTA, it is anticipated that a fully-integrated aluminium
industry with finished aluminium products would have access to a market of over
one billion people, with Ghana as a launch pad for reaching the continental and
global markets.
Source: B&FT