GHANA’S INTEGRATED ALUMINIUM INDUSTRY
Background
Ghana's aluminium industry was conceived at the inception of the newly independent country to be an integrated industrial value chain to catalyze a reorientation of the economic structure from primary commodity exports to an industrialized value-added production system. However, the prevailing structure of the domestic industry only contained elements of the inception thinking, with little integration in the value chain from the smelter, or into and with the national economy. Thus, in spite of huge bauxite deposits in Ghana VALCO imports alumina for processing into aluminium. Over time work has been done to follow through the original vision of establishing that integration. This would ensure that bauxite reserves at Nyinahin and Kibi in the Ashanti and Eastern Regions of Ghana are secured to provide the basis for the Integrated Aluminium Industry (IAllis ongoing.
VALCO IN THE CONTEXT OF THE
GHANA INTEGRATED ALUMINIUM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (GIADEC)
Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) was established by an Act of Parliament, the Ghana Aluminium Development Corporation Act, 2018 (Act 976) with the aim of developing and promoting a globally competitive Integrated Aluminium Industry (IAI) in Ghana.
GIADEC seeks to leverage on Ghana’s existing bauxite reserves and allied aluminium assets, including its interest in Ghana Bauxite Company and Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO). This is aimed at driving the full commercial exploitation of Ghana’s bauxite reserves, and add value through refining bauxite into alumina, and smelting alumina to produce aluminium, whilst encouraging the development of downstream industries.
Government is determined to change the current situation where in spite of the huge bauxite deposits at Nyinahin and Kibi in the Ashanti and Eastern Regions of Ghana respectively VALCO continues to import alumina for processing into aluminium.
VALCO Smelter will under the Integrated Aluminium Industry (IAI) provide market for the development of both upstream and downstream industries. The downstream industries which will add value to the aluminium involve the manufacturing of automotive and aerospace parts, aluminium cables and conductors for the electric power industry, aluminium roofing sheets, cladding and other structural parts for the building and construction industry, and containers and cans for the food and beverage industry. When these downstream industries are fully operational, the cyclical market fluctuations in the price of aluminium on the London Metal Exchange (LME) which impact negatively on the operations of VALCO will be a thing of the past. Currently, all these downstream industries use less than 20% of the aluminium VALCO produces.
The following key actions are to be taken about the downstream industries – the establishment of Industrial Parks to promote manufacturing of aluminium products, add value to aluminium products for exports and encouraging the consumption of aluminium locally.
The key 4 Projects of the Integrated Aluminium Industry (IAI) are as follows:
- Project 1 The expansion of existing mine at Awaso and building of a refinery.
- Project 2 The development of a mine at Nyinahin-Mpasaaso and a refinery solution.
- Project 3 The development of mine at Kyebi, a second mine at Nyinahin-Mpasaaso and building of a refinery.
- Project 4 The retrofitting, modernization and expansion of the VALCOSmelter to improve efficiency and increase capacity. This Project will increase VALCO’s production capacity from the current level of 200,000 metric tonnes of aluminium annually to 300,000 metric tonnes. Equipment and technology which have been used since the establishment of VALCO in 1967 will be upgraded to newer and more efficient technology.
