The global economic downturn has had a negative impact on prospective explo- ration projects in Ghana, which has resulted in some mines downscaling their ope- rations and workers being laid off. Despite this, natural resources and development consulting company SRK Consulting says the mining sector will continue to grow steadily

“With growing interest in Africa, and sound economic growth becoming the trend, underexplored countries are likely to see considerable investments in the exploration, mining, energy and infrastructure sectors,” says SRK Ghana country manager John Kwofie.

He adds that mined minerals, which mainly includes gold, bauxite, manganese and diamonds, contribute about 5% of Ghana’s gross domestic product, but make up almost half of its exports. He expects this trend to further increase based on global mineral demand, particularly for gold.

Currently, Ghana has about 20 large mining companies actively operating in the country, as well as over 300 small-scale miners and around 90 mining service companies.

Kwofie predicts that, while Ghana remains the second-largest producer of gold in Africa behind South Africa, it is poised to see substan- tial developments in the oil sector, following important discoveries in the last five years.

The country’s other minerals are also a magnet for foreign investment, attracting financial revenue of over $6-billion between 2000 and 2010.

SRK has worked in Ghana’s mining industry for over three decades, establishing an office in Accra in 2011, with local professionals.

“In line with SRK’s entrepreneurial business model of employee ownership, we have been able to attract some of the best local talent, and the proximity of the Accra office to projects in the west and central African subregion has added to our clients’ high level of confidence in our services,” says Kwofie.

Meanwhile SRK South Africa chairperson Roger Dixon states that local ownership of the Ghana office is central to the group’s approach of being rooted in the host country, and contributes to a working relationship with the local experts, who possess high levels of experience.

“As with all our offices, the Africa business model is based on the concept of local ownership and empowerment, which operates with the support of our colleagues internationally, and is bound by SRK’s standards of quality service,” says Dixon.

He says that this links in with SRK’s strategic commitment to develop capacity in all countries where it is active. “Just as the mining industry generally must earn its licence to ope- rate in any host country, our offices strive to build skills and technical capacity, wherever we work,” says Dixon. With 25 years of experience in surface mining, geotechnical engineering and civil construction management, Kwofie’s role in SRK’s Ghana office is augmented by senior geotechnical engineer Isaac Baidoo and geological engineer Godwin Commey.

Baidoo has spent 16 years in geotechnical and civil engineering, including design and quality management, and Commey has eight years of experience in greenfield exploration project planning and management.

“The strong foundation of mining engineer- ing skills in Ghana comes largely from the stream of graduates in mining-related disci- plines from the University of Mines and Tech- nology, in Tarkwa, and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, in Kumasi. These engineers have honed their specialities in mining operations within the region and abroad, providing a rich source of local expertise,” says Kwofie.

The office has, to date, offered services mainly in geotechnical engineering and exploration geology, but also plans to offer mining engineering and resource geology services as demand for these grow in Ghana and West Africa. “We are highly optimistic about the future of SRK Ghana, considering the confidence placed in us by our clients, and the growing opportunities in this region,” says Kwofie.

He says that Ghana’s mining future will include the exploitation of industrial minerals such as limestone, silica sand and kaolin, which have been discovered in major occurrences, but are currently only exploited on a small scale.

Further opportunities exist in phosphate, chromium, nickel, copper, lead, zinc and uranium deposits, many of which have been discovered through the country’s Mining Sector Support Programme (MSSP).

MSSP is a State programme designed to improve mining operations, and is being implemented by the Minerals Commission with European Union financial and technical assistance.

However, the mining companies’ ability to successfully take advantage of these opportunities will depend on more than their technical prowess and financial resources, believes Dixon. He emphasises the need for mining companies to engage proactively with all stakeholders in host countries, including government and local communities.

“Most companies are familiar with the legal requirements of a mining licence, but long-term success in this industry also needs a social licence,” says Dixon.

“This licence to operate is not just a matter of legal compliance but includes a company’s commitment to broad social engagement, to ensure that maximum benefits from mining are enjoyed by all those affected, directly and indirectly, by these mineral extraction projects,” emphasises Dixon.

He firmly believes that the aspirations of local communities need to be accommodated by the large international construction contracts that are carried out by foreign companies.

“Local people often do not have the skills and training to contribute to these projects and then often lose out on benefiting from work opportunities as a result,” he says.

“In the absence of proactive and constructive intervention by the key players in these projects, many stakeholders in host countries will remain marginalised from economic opportunities and this will create problems sooner or later,” warns Dixon.