As one of the biggest gold producers in the world, Ghana’s mining industry remains promising. Fifty-five years after gaining independence from British rule, the still-developing country now has combined mineral revenue of $2.75-billion for the half-year of 2012, a number that is expected to grow in the current financial year.
The Ghana Chamber of Mines (CoM) reported last year that the 2012 half-year performance of its member operations’ combined mineral revenue was up 19% from the comparative period in 2011, which was recorded as $2.31-billion.
“The impressive first-half performance was largely on the back of the performance of mineral revenue from gold and bauxite, despite the dip in revenue from diamond and manganese,” Ghana CoM CEO Dr Toni Aubynn stated.
Gold production for the country was up by 6% and in the past five years has seen a remarkable increase in the world price, appreciating 20% in revenue. The metal recorded $2.69-billion for 2012, against $2.23-billion for the first half of 2011.
This was attributed to fresh production from Perseus Mining Ghana and Adamus Resources, which started production in the second quarter of 2011.
However, bauxite production increased significantly by 82% on account of the substantial rise in shipments of the ore, which went up by 71%. Ship-ments rose from 173 601 t in the first half-year of 2011 to 295 993 t for the corresponding period in 2012.
Diamond purchases dipped significantly by 33% from 185 557 ct in the first half of 2011 to 123 699 ct of the corresponding period in 2012.
Manganese shipments declined by 25% and this was evidenced by the fact that manganese revenue slumped by 24% from $61.48-million in the first half of 2011 to $46.98-million for the corres-ponding period in 2012.
“The performance of the mining industry’s production six months into the year has been mixed, but the generally significant increase in revenue confirms mining’s continuous position as a key fortress for the country’s economy,” maintains Aubynn.
The industry, which has been a significant contributor to the country’s economy, witnessed an increase in overall minerals revenue, while output and shipments of some of the product segments recorded negative variances.
The results of the 2012/13 financial year are yet to be released.