The Chief Executive of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr. Sulemanu Koney, has urged local manufacturers to increase production of objects used to refine material in the mining sector.
According to him, Ghana only procures about 30% of its objects used to refine materials also known as grinding media input from local suppliers.
Speaking at a Grinding Media Workshop organised by the Chamber on Tuesday January 23, 2024, the CEO was of the view that local manufacturers have the ability not only to increase production but also to meet the standards.
Statistics from the Minerals Commission indicates that local procurement of grinding media increased from over $33 million in 2014 to over $126 million in 2022, while true local procurement increased from over $30 million to over $46 million within the same period.
This shows that local manufacturing of grinding media has increased only marginally.
According to Dr. Koney, the data underscores the need for the country to improve the volumes of local procurement of grinding media.
This should whet the appetite of local manufacturers of grinding media as the mining industry continues to be a captive market for generic industry, provided the products meet requisite quality standards, and are price competitive”, he mentioned.
Dr. Koney also indicated that leveraging opportunities in the mining supply chain will grow the country’s manufacturing base, improve the weight of manufacturing in the economy, and help expand into West Africa using Ghana as a hub.
The Director of Policy Planning and Minerals Titles Directorate of the Minerals Commission, Collins Anim-Sackey, said it is important that the country finds a solution to increase local production in order to be able to export some of its mining inputs.
The mining and quarrying sector contributed over ☼56.38 billion in 2022 as fiscal payments to the state, excluding dividends.
The workshop was themed “Ensuring Local Manufacturing of Quality Grinding Media for the Mining Industry,”