Skip to main content

AngloGold Ashanti to value Obuasi Mine




By: Fred Yaw Sarpong, Daily Express

AngloGold Ashanti Ghana has started a feasibility study at the Obuasi Gold Mine at Obuasi in the Ashanti Region in order to know the current state and value of the mining site.

The feasibility is to establish business case for the mine given resource they have, given the current market situation, and the modernization they want to do and as well as the capital requirement for future operation.

AngloGold Ashanti has previously announced its intention to place the Obuasi mine on limited operations while comprehensive feasibility study is completed next year.

The study is to convert Obuasi mine into a new highly productive mechanised operation that can properly develop the high-grade reserve of about 7 million ounce of gold and resource of about 20 million ounce of gold.

The feasibility study which is expected to be completed by the end of March next year is to identify the true value of the Obuasi mine and come out with a recommendations as to whether the mine site is viable for continues operation or not.

Mr David Noko, Executive Vice President in charge of sustainability at AngloGold Ashanti Limited said at a stakeholders meeting held in Accra that the reason why they are restructuring Obuasi mine is that the infrastructures at the mine site are overage and there is need to replace them.

‘The Obuasi mine is unproductive area for now and some of the equipment’s at the site are making production ineffective,’ said Mr Noko adding that any mining operation which is over 100 years requires a redesign.

Daily Express gathered that currently Obuasi mine covers an area of about 400 square meters and the feasibility study is expected to reduce the area. ‘The area needs to be reducing so that we can manage it properly,’ said Mr Noko.

According to him they were spending a lot of resources to manage the Obuasi mine and they were not generating much from the site. The current gold price is around US$1,200 per ounce on the international market. However, Mr Noko said it currently costing them US$1,300 to produce an ounce of gold.

‘These are some of the reason why we have taken the decision to do retrenchment on the site. Because we are not making profit from the site,’ he added.

He believes that the 117-year old Obuasi mine had to properly address high costs, poor mining feasibility, low tonnages and deteriorating infrastructure in order to ensure its long-term sustainable contribution to the local, regional and national economy.

He stated that although AngloGold Ashanti Ghana has over the past decade contributed over US$577 million in corporate taxes, royalties, dividend, customs duties and employees taxes to the economy; out of this US$324 million is from Obuasi mine and the remainder coming from Iduapriem operation.

‘But the sharply lower gold price and worsening operational challenges required the current holistic intervention to improve the prospects of the Obuasi mine’s long-term sustainability,’ said Mr Noko.

Since 2012 a total number of 3,100 workers at the Obuasi mine have been relieved from their posts as part of the on-going restructuring in the company. These 3,100 employees have received their severance packages in line with an agreement reached with the Ghana Mine Workers Union (GMWU).

Currently, there are about 1.300 full time employees and 1,100 third-party contractors at Obuasi mine.

Mr Fred Atta Kumah, the Managing Director for Obuasi mine a total of US$250 million is been spent as severance package for the workers who will be affected.

He told Daily Express that on average a worker expected to get US$50,000 package per person depending on the number of years the person has spent at the Obuasi mine.

‘But majority of the people are earning higher amount because the average spent on the mine site per a worker is 20 years,’ said Mr Kumah.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CIMG holds strategic marketing conference

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong The Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (CIMG)’s annual strategic marketing conference will take place at the Golden Tulip hotel in Accra between October 26 and 27, 2016. The conference is part of the institute’s mission to improve on the performance of marketers, professionals and administrators within corporate Ghana. The theme for the conference; “Democracy and National Cohesion: Marketing a new Political Paradigm.” Mr. Kwabena Akuamoah Agyekum, the Executive Director of CIMG said the conference seeks to promote the CIMG advocacy mission to impact on professional, corporate organizations and officialdom. He mentioned that four resource persons are billed to present papers over the two day event covering very exciting and insightful segments of the theme under the chairmanship of the Marketing Woman for Year 2015, Ms. Maidie Elizabeth Arkutu, Managing Director of Unilever and Dr. Doris Dartey, a Media Consultant. Mr. Agyekum said the speake...
Post a Comment
Read more

Vodafone Ghana gets new CEO

The Board of Directors of Vodafone Ghana have appointed Haris Broumidis as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). His appointment took effect from July 15, 2013. Haris Broumidis joined Vodafone in 2002 as the Marketing Director and Enterprise Unit Director in Vodafone Greece and moved on to Vodafone Albania as the CEO in 2007. Under his leadership, Vodafone Albania became the undisputable leader in the telecoms sector. In 2012, he joined Vodafone Group in its h eadquarters, London, as the Commercial Director for Europe. Among several other responsibilities he was tasked with the acceleration and implementation of Vodafone’s commercial priorities in European markets. He brings on board several years of experience and a winning strategy to strengthen Vodafone Ghana’s number two position in Ghana’s telecom market and also make it the undisputed leader for enterprise. Haris Broumidis is from Greece and studied Economics at the University of Athens. He pursued his MBA at the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Barbering Salons, bridging the unemployment gap in Ghana

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong Barbering business in Ghana is money making venture, depending on the location of the shop. Various barbering shops scattered across the country charges according to the location of the shop. The nature and sustainability of every barbering shop depends on the location of the shop. The location will determine how much one can charge a customer for barbering his or her hair. Checks indicate that some barbering shops located at Spintex, East Legon and Osu Oxford street charges between GHc15.00 and GHc20.00 per hair cut. At South La Estate, it will cost a customer to pay GHc4.00 for hair cut, while one will have to pay GHc3.00 to barber his or her hair at a place like Nima, Maamobi and Mallam Gbawe. Royal Vulture Executive Barbering Salon is one of the biggest barbering salons one can locate within Accra. One is its shops is located at Madina, near Taxi rank while one is located at Accra New Town, near the Post Office. Customers at Madina pay GHc7.00 ...
7 comments
Read more