Ghana Will Collaborate With China To Optimize The Mining Industry- Samuel Jinapor

Minister of Lands and Natural Resources of Ghana, Samuel Abu Jinapor has said the government of Ghana remains committed to collaborate with the Government of China to optimize the country’s mining industry.

Addressing the China Mining Conference, 2023 in Tianjin, on Thursday 26th October 2023 on the theme “Innovation Promotes High Quality Development Of Mining ”.

The Minister emphasized the importance of Technology and innovation in the mining industry particularly in Africa in ensuring the survival of the sector.

“ Africa holds about 30% of the world’s mineral reserves and will be enjoined by the Africa mining vision to promote optimal exploitation of these mineral resources to underpin broad sustainable growth and socio-Economic development’’.

This he said, requires that “ we develop the right tools and technology through innovation. It is by harnessing the power of innovation that we can maximize efficiency, reduce waste and create a lawless driven mining sector. It is by the power of technology that we can address the historical environmental degradation and social challenges associated with mining to promote mining efficiency and build a secular economy’’ he stressed.

The Minister emphasized that through effective use of technology and innovation in mining, countries can increase production and add more value to minerals produced.

The conference he said provides an important opportunity for stakeholders in the mining sector across the globe particularly the role of technology and innovation in building a green sustainable and safe mining industry.

“ It is an invitation for all of us governments, investors and other industry players to access present and past mining practices side by side the industry we seek to build and more importantly it is a call to scale up investment in the mining industry to develop affordable and innovative technologies, sustainable mining as well as to adopt innovative approaches to key financial issue’’.

The Minister disclosed that modern day life largely depends on minerals and mining which provide the component for the manufacturing industry.

“This has become more profound as the world works toward a green energy transition and the need to promote high quality development of mining is therefore non-negotiable. And we therefore must seize every opportunity presented to us to improve technology to ensure a responsible and sustainable mining industry but above all we must be innovative and invest in value addition for the benefit of our people ’’ he lamented.

The Minister described Africa as home to the green minerals required for the green energy transition. ” available statistic show that African Continent host about 91% of a platinum group of metals, 79% of phosphate rock, 53% of carbons, 46% of Manganese, 35% of chromite, 25% of bauxite, 21% of graphite, 6% of copper, and substantial deposit of other minerals like lithium, iron odd and real earth element’’.

Highlighting mineral deposits in Africa and Ghana in particular, Samuel Jinapor said” Ghana is currently the leading producer of Gold in Africa with very robust linkages in the mining industry and have already been mining Gold, Bauxite and Manganese for well over 80 years.

“We have just signed an agreement for our first lithium project amidst extensive work for the development of our iron odds and other resources but to realize the benefits of these critical minerals we must add value to them. Bloomberg for example estimates that the global lithium industry at the mining stage is about $11 billion dollars but the value of the industry at the highest end of the value chain is over 7 trillion US dollars. Unfortunately, because of our dependence on export of raw materials and raw minerals, African countries currently involved in the exploitation of lithium are said to be making only 10-15% of the full value chain. Clearly we cannot benefit optimally from these resources if we continue to depend on export of raw materials’’, he bemoaned.

The Minister disclosed to the captains of the global mining sector that the government of Ghana led by President Nana Akufo Addo has taken a policy decision to promote value addition mineral resources and doing so with strong state participations through the minerals investment fund, the Ghana Integrated Aluminum Corporation and Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Corporation’’ he assured.

He said, the government focus is to promote state investment and development in the mining industry and the development of integrated aluminum and Iron and Steel industries which cannot be achieved without innovations and technology.

As Ghana begin the mining of Lithium, the sector Minister Samuel Abu Jinapor disclosed government’s commitment to partner with the Government of China and other Chinese mining private companies and investors to promote value addition to the Ghanaians green minerals.

“ Our ultimate aim in Ghana is to ensure that exploitation, management and use of our natural resources to the benefit of the people of Ghana while ensuring optimal returns for investors’’ Jinapor said.

Source: Isaac Justice Bediako