Ghana, Australia wants collaboration to grow mining industry

The Australian High Commissioner to Ghana Mrs. Joana Adamson has called for more collaboration between Ghana and Australia to grow the mining industry for the two countries’ mutual development.

Australia has the expertise to help Ghana to explore the numerous mining opportunities in the country, she said.

Mrs. Adamson said this when she paid a day’s visit to the AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem Mine to acquaint herself at first hand with ongoing developments and projects of the surface mining operation. 

She was accompanied by some senior employees of the High Commission and Prof. J.S. Kumah, Vice Chancellor of University of Mining and Technology.

The High Commissioner observed that in terms of economic development, especially in the mining sector, Ghana and Australia have a long standing relationship; and the Western Region in particular has been of great interest to Australia because of its vast expanse of mineral resources.

Professor J.S. Kuma said deepening the relationship between academia and industry in closing the technological gap, improving the manpower base and machinery, and making production more efficient, is essential.

“The University of Mines and Technology has done so with the Iduapriem operation in the area of gold recovery, and we believe we can still do more to improve the way things are done in the mine as well.

“In these tough and challenging times, the university and the mining companies could do more collaboration to find solutions to some of the nagging problems facing the mining industry,” Prof. Kumah said.

Mr. Samuel Noi, the Senior Manager for the Processing Department and Acting Managing Director of the Iduapriem Mine said the mine has always been run and directed in partnerships, and that the AGA operation is building right partnerships and linkages to improve the operation. 

He explained that the mine is still in operation despite the current low gold price because the mine is all the time looking for efficiency and continuously improving the way things are done, and the result is that “we are able to control cost and judiciously manage drivers of productivity”.