Mineral revenue for the first quarter of 2010 stood at US$809.89 million - up from US$640.15 million for the same period in 2009, figures from the Ghana Chamber of Mines has disclosed.
The performance which represents an increase of 26.5 percent was driven by diamond revenue - which went up substantially by 308 percent coupled with Manganese revenue that recorded an increase of 87 for the same period; meanwhile, Bauxite revenue increased by 42.4 percent and Gold revenue also rose, by 25 percent.
Gold production rose marginally by three percent with shipment of bauxite recording a 16 percent increase. Diamond and manganese also recorded increases for the period under review.
The 86 percent increase in diamond output over the period was substantial, and so was the Manganese shipment which was up by 64 percent.
The first quarter of 2010 saw a six percent decrease in total mineral revenue compared to the fourth quarter of 2009.
However, mineral revenue for the first quarter was US$809. 89 million as against the US$860.33 million recorded for the fourth quarter of 2009; with Gold production dipping by eight percent, Bauxite, Diamond and Manganese shipments increased by 65percent, 18 percent and eight percent respectively.
Meanwhile, industry watchers last year anticipated that the outlook for the 2010 production year would be a mixed year for the country’s mining industry, expecting gold to perform well while bauxite and manganese exports could fall as a result of a decline in demand.
B&FT’s checks at the Chamber revealed that the mineral and mining industry injected a total of US$2.9 billion into the country’s economy in 2009, representing an increase of 27 percent from the 2008 figure of US$2.3billion - with gold revenue increasing by 28 percent from US$2.2 billion in 2008 to US$ 2.9 billion in 2009.
The rise was due to an appreciation in gold output by 13.3 percent from 2,585,993 ounces in 2008 to 2,930,328 ounces in 2009, coupled with an increase in the average realised gold price by 14 percent fromUS$852 per ounce in 2008 to US$970 per ounce in 2009.
Output of gold production from the major operators - namely Golden Star Wassa Limited, Chirano Gold Mines, Gold Fields Ghana Tarkwa, AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi, Golden Star Bogoso and Newmont Ahafo - increased cumulatively. This offset the decline at the AngloGold Ashanti-Iduapriem mine and accounted for the rise in the overall production of gold.
Gold production at the Gold Fields Ghana Tarkwa mine increased slightly by about one percent, from 659,308 ounces in 2008 to 664,515 ounces in 2009. This marginal increase was on account of installation of an expansion plant in the middle of the year, which dampened the adverse effects of the teething problems encountered as well as the lower grade ore mined.
Output at Gold Field’s mine at Damang also increased marginally, by about three percent from 197,025 ounces in 2008 to 202,505 ounces in 2009. The increase was helped by a build-up of the crushed ore stockpile in 2008, which ensured a consistent feed to the mill in 2009.
Cumulatively, the Gold Fields group produced a total of 867,020 ounces in 2009 compared with the 856,333 ounces produced in 2008. This represents an increase of 1.3percent.
Overall, the total output of the AngloGold Ashanti group increased by 2.52 percent - from 557,241 ounces in 2008 to 571,295 ounces in 2009.
Golden Star’s Wassa mine recorded an outstanding 78.5 percent increase in production from 125,438 ounces in 2008 to 223,843 ounces in 2009, with its production at the Bogoso/Prestea mine increasing by about nine percent - from 170,485 ounces in 2008 to 186,054 ounces in 2009. Together, the Golden Star group produced 409,897 ounces in 2009, representing an increase of 38.5 percent on the 295,923 ounces of 2008.
The outturn at the Chirano Gold Mines was 182,463 ounces in 2009. This was 52.4 percent higher than the 119,696 ounces it produced in 2008. The increase was also attributable to successful development of the underground to commercial levels in the last quarter of 2009, as well as processing increased quantities of high grade ore from the underground at the Akwaaba mine.
Output at Newmont Ahafo’s mine was 533,000 ounces in 2009. This represents an increase of 1.7 percent over the 524,000 ounces it produced in 2008.
The Precious Minerals Marketing Company’s (PMMC) total purchases and exports of gold from small-scale miners increased substantially, by 81 percent from 202,535 ounces in 2008 to 366,653 ounces in 2009.
Manganese revenue also increased - by four percent from US$62.3million in 2008 to US$64.9 million in 2009. A strong result, considering shipments of the mineral declined by seven percent - from 1,089,025 tonnes to 1,012,941 tonnes in the same period.
The fall in shipment was on account of the credit crunch, which had a huge adverse impact on businesses all over the world as well as on the demand for minerals.
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