Minister inaugurates Sahara Royal Gold Refinery in Accra
Nii Osah Mills, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources on Friday, inaugurated Sahara Royal Gold Refinery Limited (SRGRL) to help address the problem of lack of refining capacity in Ghana’s gold mining industry.
The refinery which could be located at Adjiringano in Accra would run three shifts in a day, with each refining 200 kilogrammes, making a total of 600 Kg of refined gold a day.
The establishment of the refinery which is a private sector led vision, was made possible with support from relevant government institutions such as the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources, Minerals Commission, Environmental Protection Agency and Ghana Police Service.
Nii Osah congratulated the Management of the company for the hard work and advised them to maintain their unity, trust for one another and work hard to achieve the objectives of the company.
He said the company must ensure that it employs highly skilled and competent personnel, who must be well motivated in order to achieve maximum operational standards and also promptly meet its financial obligations to government for socio-economic development.
He said although gold plays an important role in Ghana’s economy and is currently the largest foreign exchange earner; the mineral has since time immemorial left its territory in raw for, denying the country of the full benefits of being a major gold producer.
The mining sector in 2014 produced a total of 4.4 million ounces of gold, of which small scale miners produced 1.5 million ounces, which amounted to about 34 per cent of the national total, he said.
He however said almost 100 per cent of gold produced from both large and small scale producers were exported without value addition.
Nii Osah said if all the minerals mined in the country are processed and value added to them before export, more jobs would be created and revenue earned by the state.
He also said most investors who are interested in establishing gold refineries in Ghana fear that it may not be economically viable, therefore the establishment of SRGRL was a pace setter for other prospective investors to emulate.
Mr Chris Mensah, Head of Public Relations of the Company, said the company has a 25 kilometre square land at Atiwa in the Eastern Region from the government for mining, but would currently purchase its raw materials from existing mining companies and small scale miners until it completes prospecting for the commodity.
He said the dream which was inspired and spearheaded by Mr Godwin Amekuedi, Chief Executive Officer and the management, has placed Ghana in the league of quality gold refinery centres in the world.
He said in this regard, a lot of effort has been placed by the owners of the company into ensuring that equipment of high international standard and quality is available at the refinery.
He acknowledged the support of the Italian Embassy in assisting the company to source for the equipment from its manufacturer Italimpianti Orafi of Italy, who are known to supply equipment to some of the best gold refineries in the world.
Source: GNA