The Sahara Royal Gold Refinery has been launched with the capacity to refine over 200 kilogrammes of gold per day.
The country is second producer of gold in Africa and 9th in the world, and has only a few small gold refineries refining gold produced by small-scale miners. Almost 100% of the gold produced from large as well as small-scale producers is exported without value addition.
Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Nii Osah Mills, launching operations
of the company in Accra, called on prospective investors to follow the example
and establish refineries for other minerals produced in the country to add
value to them.
The country produces gold, diamond, bauxite and manganese, and out of
these four minerals produced gold and diamonds are processed in-country and the
rest exported to other countries for processing.
In 2014 the country produced a total of 4.4million ounces of gold. Small-scale
gold miners produced a total of 1.5 million ounces, which amounts to about 34%
of total gold produced. The mining sector contributed 16% of total government
revenue.
The large gold mining companies export the gold produced to other countries
for refining. The licenced gold and diamonds buyers who procure these minerals
also export them to other countries.
Even though gold and diamonds are processed in the country, there are
very limited facilities to refine the gold and polish the diamonds. As a result,
almost all of these products are still sent to other countries for refining.
This is due to the difference in characteristics of these minerals and
the technology required for processing them to meet international standards.
Nii Mills said: “It is gratifying that Sahara Royal Gold Refinery has
come on board to add value to gold production in the country. If all the minerals
mined in the country are processed and value added to them before export, more
jobs will be created and revenue earned by the state.”
He explained that some investors who are interested in establishing gold
refineries in the country fear that they may not be economically viable.
“Minerals have their associates. For example, gold is associated with
silver, and when gold is refined the amount of silver recorded is not known to
be a product from Ghana. This is treated quietly,” he said.
Mr. Chris Mensah, Public Relation Manager of Sahara Royal Gold Refinery,
said it is a private sector-led vision that has seen the light of day with
support from relevant government institutions.
“We believe that the time has come for Ghana to aggressively venture into
gold refining, and have initiated this project to create the requisite
environment for international standard gold refining in the country for the
ultimate benefit of Ghana’s gold mining and trade industry,” he remarked.
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