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West Africa's Mining Industry

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West Africa’s mining industry A rising mining market emerges in a challenging global context TABLE OF CONTENTS Ghana.......................................................p116 This report was researched and prepared by Mali...........................................................p122 Global Business Reports (www.gbreports.com) for Guinea.......................................................p126 Engineering & Mining Journal. Editorial researched and written by Ana Maria Miclea and Razvan Isac. For more details, please contact [email protected]. Cover photo courtesy of Engineers & Planners. A REPORT BY GBR FOR E&MJ JUNE 2014 MINING IN GHANA Ghana West Africa’s most revered mining jurisdiction By now, the fact that Ghana is West Af- neighboring countries, nor is it dramatically to successfully leverage the foreign invest- rica’s most mature and developed mining richer in resources than other promising ju- ments made into Ghana’s mining industry jurisdiction should not be news to any se- risdictions such as Cote D’Ivoire or Burkina in recent times. rious, informed mining stakeholder. More- Faso. Although its 539 km coastline gives In fact, Rocksure International took only over, the fact that Ghanaian mining is it the edge against countries such as Mali, five years to go from an equipment rental virtually synonymous with Ghanaian gold this asset can hardly be considered a deci- company to a full-fledged mining contrac- mining should not startle anyone either. sive differentiator in a region where Togo, tor, with over 200 staff. “It has been a From the distant times of the legendary Benin, The Ivory Coast, Guinea, Sierra Le- very exciting journey so far […] Rocksure Ashanti Kings and their gold, to present- one, and Liberia also have ocean-access. International is now seeking to diversify its day industrial open-pit and underground In fact, Ghana’s main advantage is not scope of operations to other minerals and operations, the precious metal has al- related to the country’s geography or ge- countries. We have operational offices in ways played a crucial role for Ghana’s ology, but rather to its society. The first Mali (where a production drilling contract economy. Today, the extractive industries country in Sub-Saharan Africa to gain inde- with Endeavour mine in Tabakoto is still (gold and oil), alongside cocoa production, pendence in 1957, Ghana has been func- ongoing), in Burkina Faso, Mauritania and account for the bulk of the country’s ex- tioning as a peaceful, stable, and demo- Sierra Leone,” said Ofori, whose view on ports and foreign exchange. Furthermore, cratic state since 1992. The importance Ghana’s viability as an investment destina- with 30,000 direct employees, the mining of this fact in the West-African sub-region tion is widely shared throughout the mining sector was the source of 27% of the gov- cannot be underestimated and mining industry. ernment’s internally generated revenue in stakeholders do not shy away from empha- “Ghana has good governance and po- 2012; roughly 95% of that amount can be sizing that: “Ghana has many advantages litical stability – we are the Switzerland of traced back to gold. that make it a very attractive investment West Africa,” added Benji Kwesi, managing So what are the main factors that have destination in West Africa: its stable politi- director of B&P Group, a local contracting allowed Ghana to become West Africa’s cal situation makes it an island of peace and logistical company which was founded trademark mining jurisdiction, and Africa’s in the region,” said Kwasi Ofori, managing abroad, in Holland, 12 years ago. second largest gold producer? Ghana is director of Rocksure International, a local Today, this favorable investment climate not disproportionally larger than any of its contracting company that has been able is fully reflected by the range of top-tier An interview with Benjamin Aryee, the CEO of Ghana’s Mineral Commission. The year 2013 saw a downturn throughout 2014: the problem is that of the global gold markets. How the mining companies’ reactions to fluc- badly was Ghana’s mining indus- tuations in the international market are try impacted by this trend, given not constant. During the downturn, the the country’s strong reliance on private sector tends to shut down rapidly gold mining? and drastically. Meanwhile, during the Mining, and particularly gold mining, upturn, the time needed for companies to has always been extremely important for regain confidence and restart investing is Ghana. Consequently, whatever happens much longer: there is no sudden reaction, to gold has a clear and direct impact on because people want to see if the positive the Ghanaian mining industry and the na- market conditions are sustainable, before tional economy. The gold price decline of re-committing the capital. Moreover, the 2013 affected production in the country downturn also causes another negative by about 15% and most of this negative long-term effect: the severe reduction effect was felt in the second half of the of exploration work. Subsequently, re- year, as June had the sharpest month to sources are no longer being discovered, month output decrease. Furthermore, Ghanaian national revenue fact which will eventually lead to a gap in future production. An- suffered and unemployment increased, as several mining compa- other issue is that there is not enough industrial integration being nies reduced the number of their employees: it is estimated that, achieved at the moment, there are not enough linkages between in 2013, between 2,500 and 4,000 people lost their jobs in the the gold industry and other sectors of the economy. These factors nation’s mining sector. combined show us that, unfortunately, we will not be witnessing The problem is that the industry is a price-taker, and there any dramatic increase of mining activities in Ghana over the next is little that we can do when facing decreasing gold prices. Un- two to three years, as the industry will still be recovering from the fortunately, we are expecting these negative trends to continue 2013 gold shock. 116 E&MJ • JUNE 2014 www.e-mj.com MINING IN GHANA www.e-mj.com E&MJ • JUNE 2014 3 MINING IN GHANA gold producers present in Ghana. Four of money. By mid-2012, this flow of invest- 2012, it produced 280,000 oz/y at a total the top 10 global gold giants operate in the ment-money began to slowdown, making cash cost of $1,187/oz; finally, in 2013, country: AngloGold Ashanti (at Obuasi and it more difficult to raise capital. Some ju- it accounted for 239,000 oz/y at $1,406/ Iduapriem), Newmont Mining (at Ahafo niors that had secured investment did not oz. Numbers do not lie and subsequently, and Akyem), Gold Fields (at Tarkwa and deliver on their promises to investors and. in April 2014, AngloGold announced the Damang), and Kinross Gold (at Chirano). arguably, a number of feasibility studies shutdown of the mine for a period between The scenery is completed by operating were over-optimistic,” said Simon Mead- 18 and 24 months. Even if no two gold mid-tier companies such as Endeavour ows Smith, managing director of SEMS Ex- mines are identical in Ghana, this trend Mining (at Nzema) and Golden Star Re- ploration, a West-African focused geologi- can be generalized to an extent – costs are sources (at Bogoso/Prestea and Wassa), as cal consultancy group, founded in 2002, increasing, while the gold price, as of late, well as promising mid-tier hopefuls, such which currently has a physical footprint in is decreasing. Meanwhile, Gold Fields saw as the newly formed Asanko Gold. Good six countries across the continent. strikes at both its Ghanaian operations in resources, good companies, good gover- Indeed, by mid-2013, the gold price April 2014, while Newmont fired 300 of nance, what could ever go wrong given this had dropped to the $1,300/oz mark, sig- its Ghana-based employees in late 2013. apparently infallible recipe for success? naling the beginning of turmoil for Ghana’s The margins of profitability are more cru- The long answer to that question would be prolific gold industry. cial than ever, while every dollar spent is the lack of Ghana’s mineral diversification under extreme scrutiny. “Generally speak- and its inevitable dependence on the global The hidden dangers of Ghana’s ing, markets tend to be driven by sentiment economy. The short answer would be the mature mining market rather than fact and the reality is that the price of gold. The reality is that Ghana’s mature mining sentiment towards gold is not good at the The period between 2010 and 2012 market is a double-edged sword: political moment […] It is interesting to see how the could easily be referred to as the “Golden and legal stability, as well as the pres- world’s major gold mining companies have Age” of Ghana’s gold mining. Year-on-year, ence of a highly-qualified, local workforce had such recent trouble with the price of global gold prices increased by 26%, 28%, are its advantages. Continuously increas- gold at $1,200/oz, considering that busi- and 6%, while the country’s national pro- ing costs, generated by aging mines and ness was doing good a couple of years ago, duction went from 3.3 million oz/y in 2010 more empowered employees, are its down- when the price was merely $700-800/oz. to 4.3 million oz/y in 2012. “In West Af- falls. AngloGold Ashanti’s Obuasi mine has The explanation behind this is two-fold: one rica, 2010 and 2011 were two phenom- been in operation for over a century – at factor relates to a general increase in costs, enally good years for the mining industry; its peak, in 1996, it produced 934,000 particularly diesel fuel.
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