Abu Jinapoor attracts potential investors for Ghana’s bauxite and aluminium industry

On Wednesday, April 27, Hon. Samuel Abu Jinapor (MP), Minister of Lands and Natural Resources announced that aluminium has been globally identified by the government as a critical commodity for the energy transition initiative. The announcement was made while he was leading a Ghanaian delegation to this year's Bauxite and Alumina Conference in Miami, Florida, United States of America. Ghana has tremendous prospects for those willing to invest in the downstream.

The purpose of the conference was to promote Ghana's Integrated Aluminium Industry and to sell Ghana's strategy to push integration and value addition processes throughout the bauxite to the aluminium value chain. Hon. Jinapor told the investment community that Ghana is ready for business because of its open society, thriving economy, strong democratic institutions, respect for individual rights and the rule of law, and engrained democratic accountability norms.

According to Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor, the involvement would aid in the realisation of President of the Republic Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo’s efforts to develop an integrated aluminium sector in Ghana, with all the links to mining, smelting, refinery, and downstream output.

“We are determined to work relentlessly to ensure that his vision comes into fruition”, said Hon. Jinapor.

Ghana has attempted to create and sustain an integrated aluminium industry for over eight decades. When President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo took office in January 2017, he revived this goal by forming Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) through a Parliamentary Act. According to the Minister, the President's action is intended to guarantee that bauxite mining in Ghana is refined, therefore assisting in the development of the downstream industry, which would give jobs, improve talent development, and alter the economy.

Mr Michael Ansah, the CEO of GIADEC, stressed the importance of utilising Ghana's raw material base to guarantee that the aluminium produced is used to drive the downstream economy, ultimately assisting the country in realising its goal of a Ghana Beyond Aid. He underlined GIADEC's commitment to complying with regulatory standards in all projects throughout the bauxite and aluminium value chain, as well as to protect the environment for stakeholders and future generations.

Engagements with global heavyweights in the bauxite and alumina business, such as Trafigura Investment Company Ltd, were held on the margins of the famed bauxite and alumina Conference, with the goal of bringing much-needed investment money to the industry. Top diplomats, industrial captains, and ministers of state, including Guinea's Minister of Mines and Geology, Mr Moussa Mogassouba, were also in attendance.