BusinessOil & Gas/Mining

Ghana Manganese Company shares discoveries with MIIF

The Ghana Manganese Company says it is currently prospecting for the mineral across the country

Ghana Manganese Company (GMC), one of the oldest mines in the country has begun exploratory works in in some parts of the Western Region where they expect to build a completely new mine by 2027.

The company which has been mining in Nsuta since 1914, disclosed their exciting new discovery to the chief executive officer of the Minerals Income Investment Fund, Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng when he paid a working visit to the mine on Monday as part of a familiarization tour of mining companies in the region.

Beyond, the Western discovery, GMC is involved in prospecting activity in Northern Ghana where the outlook also seems positive.

The chief financial officer of the company, Joe Ntsiful told MIIF boss, Edward Nana Koranteng; “We are excited about our prospects in the Western Region. It will take us about five years to build a proper mine.  We are also prospecting in the Savannah region of Ghana. We believe there is some real potential there too.”

“The news about the future prospects of GMC in Ghana is refreshing taking into cognizance that in 2020 the company was shut down for close to six months for various reasons which adversely affected payment of royalties to MIIF. We are back up and even here at Nsuta the prospects are good for the next sixteen years,” said Joseph Ampong, the General Manager of the mine.

“At present, we are mining on the average five million tons of carbonated manganese a year. At this rate we believe the mine can go on for a long time. We are truly committed to developing the mine.”

Manganese is used as an additive for glass and steel production worldwide. Ghana Manganese is 90% owned by the Consmin Group headquartered in Jersey but is mainly run by Ghanaians. The remaining 10% is owned by the government of Ghana.

Joseph Ntsiful, the Chief Finance Officer assured Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng of improved performance by the company due to a huge investment outlay;

“We have recently acquired new equipment and are optimistic about the operational efficiency of the mine. Our challenges are at the macro level. We are trucking 20% of our produce to the Takoradi port when railway is a better option in terms of cost and efficiency. We need the railway working.”

On the subject of royalties, although GMC had faced some initial challenges stemming from its long shut down which saw nonpayment of royalties, Koranteng expressed delight that GMC since February 2021 to date, they have been punctual with its royalty payments to MIIF.

Ntsiful indicated that “we are up to date with our payments and will even do better in the coming years. We are very excited MIIF is here for us to engage and this has been truly fruitful.”

Edward Nana Koranteng shared the optimism charging them to seek innovative ways of engaging with MIIF to ensure more efficiency in working together.

“At MIIF, our focus is unchanging. We need to guarantee the future wealth of this country by making sure we receive the royalties on behalf of government and invest the royalties in a way that guarantees that future generations of this country will benefit from the minerals we mine today”.

“Your story is refreshing. I have learnt today that Nsuta is actually derived from the ‘Nsuatite’ that was being mined here years ago, a bit like Tanzanide that became Tanzania. I would need you to be more innovative in engaging with MIIF so we can make the royalties regime from here even better and more efficient”.

“This is our charge to keep for the people of Ghana and for future generations to come. I am happy about the prospects going forward; the employment opportunities, the desire to work with the railways and the fact that the operations of the company are mainly run by Ghanaians”.

“However it is incumbent on the company to invest in efficiency in order to be profitable. As a shareholder, we are not too pleased with the fact that GMC is not churning out the profits which affects dividend payouts to the state and ultimately affects MIIF’s investments on behalf of the State”.

“In all you do, lets ensure that Ghana’s interest is put right at the center and that Ghanaians benefit”.

The Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) is responsible for managing Ghana’s equity interests in mining companies and holding and investing royalties from all mining companies on behalf of the State”.

Wilberforce Asare

Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online
99.5 in Accra, 90.7 in Ho, 98.5 in Kumasi, 99.7 in Tamale, 89.5 in Tarkwa, 100.3 in Cape Coast and 106.9 in Walewale
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
#AsaaseRadio
#TheVoiceofOurLand 

Show More

Related Articles

Back to top button

Adblock Detected

ALLOW OUR ADS