The establishment of gold refineries
in the country over the last 10-years will position the country to add value to the precious metal and get
real monetary value, as the gold price fluctuation continues in the world
market says Dr. Toni Aubynn, Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission.
The country boast five registered
established gold refineries located in various parts of the country; some are
producing and with others are due to be operational by close of the year.
Global commodity prices have
recorded a major dip over the last three years, especially the gold price as it
is trading at US$1,107.86 on the international market.
Last year, 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 country is second-largest
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.
Speaking with B&FT on wide range
of issues in the minerals and mining sector, Dr. Aubynn, confirmed that owing
to the fluctuation of global gold prices, the establishment of gold refineries
will set the country on a better standing as it is prudent to add value to its
precious metal to get real monetary value from it.
Dr. Aubynn added that: “One will buy
the metal at low price and add value to it and make some margins, since the
price does not affect jewellery prices.
“The gold price is going down
globally, so the coming in of these refineries is timely. I think it is
good for Ghana, given that the gold price is going down; adding value will
actually push the profit up.
“It is exciting and I am happy about
the development, because if we build a huge refinery here we may be competing
with other established refineries that in a way most of our major producers
have links with -- there are some refineries that some mining companies own
shares in, so they have some prior arrangement to supply them with some
quantities of gold.”
The country is the second-highest
gold producing nation in Africa after South Africa, and has attracted major
multinational mining companies including Newmont Mining Corporation, Gold
Fields Limited, AngloGold Ashanti, Golden Star Resources among others.
These companies export the raw metal
for processing overseas due to lack of an in-country refinery.
Government early last year announced
its readiness to partner any investor to help establish a gold refinery plant
for adding value to the country’s gold.
B&FT has gathered that ASAP VASA
Company Limited -- a multi-million dollar high capacity refinery plant, a major
gold refinery plant in the country operating and refining 100 kilogrammes of
gold daily into granules, coins and bars -- purchases all of its raw gold from
licenced small-scale miners and refines them to international quality standards
of 99.9% fineness for the local and international gold markets.
Again, last month saw official
launch of the Sahara Royal Gold Refinery with the capacity to refine over 200
kilogrammes of gold per day, while there is another refinery yet to come on
stream before the end of the year.
Dr. Aubynn said the country’s minerals
and mining sector is well-positioned to serve the West African market, and that
the advent of these refineries will position the industry as a hub for refining
gold in the sub-region.
He urged the companies to focus on
their strategies to position themselves to be the West African hub, and these
are the targets of the refineries. “The companies want to be able to refine for
West Africa, so it is not only Ghana that they are targetting. If things go well
it will be good for Ghana.
“Those local refineries should
consider and refine produce from the multinational gold mining companies,
especially Newmont, Gold Fields among others,” Dr. Aubynn remarked.
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