Bawumia defends cooperation between Ghana and Guinea on the development of the bauxite industry

Company News of Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Source: dailymailgh.com

2019-03-20

Ghana and Guinea should begin discussions on bilateral cooperation in the development of the bauxite industry, as well as trade cooperation between Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire in the sector. cocoa.

Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of Ghana, following the bilateral meeting he had with the Guinean Prime Minister, Ibrahima Kbadory Fofana, on the sidelines of the 14th CII-Exim Bank Congress on the India Partnership Project -Africa in New Delhi, India.

In a brief media interview after the meeting, Vice President Bawumia said, "You know that what we are trying to do in the mining sector with regard to bauxite is quite similar to Guinea, but different in in many ways. Guinea has bauxite resources and they have the mine. We are trying to move up the value chain by exploiting not only the mining sector but also refining. After refining, VALCO must be melted.

Vice President Bawumia believes that such cooperation will help both countries share their knowledge, create synergies and enhance their mutual benefits.

"As a country (Ghana), our vision is to ensure that our Guinean counterpart and others sponsor our refinery and also bring their raw bauxite to the smelter in Ghana. This will help stimulate the Ghanaian economy and bring in additional currency, "said Vice President Bawumia.

Guinea has the largest deposits of bauxite in the world and Ghana, with nearly a billion tons of bauxite, the two countries should control between 70 and 80% of the world's bauxite resources. Working together will help strengthen their position and voice in the global bauxite market, a decision that can only be beneficial for both countries.

In June 2017, the government announced that Ghana was preparing to establish an integrated aluminum industry by mining and refining its bauxite deposits, particularly in the Nyinahini enclave. The government started the process and introduced, through legislation pbaded in 2018, the Ghana Integrated Aluminum Development Corporation, a public holding company responsible for the country's bauxite resources, management and development.

A Request for Proposal to select a mining company and a buyer for refined bauxite will be announced soon for the start of the selection process.

It is estimated that bauxite deposits in Ghana's refined form could yield more than $ 350 billion in export value to the country. This has enormous potential to radically change the dynamics and economic history of Ghana.

Before meeting with the Prime Minister of Guinea, Mr. Bawumia, together with HE Ibrahima Kbadory Fofana and the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, HE Mr. Monyane Moleleki, paid a courtesy visit to the Vice President of India, HE Venkaiah Naidu. Leaders have engaged in frank discussions on how Africa and India can partner to enhance economic cooperation in trade and investment to boost their respective economies.