Ghana Bauxite Company (GBC) has rejected allegations of irregularities in the sale of an 80% stake formerly held by China’s Bosai Minerals to Ghanaian firm Ofori Poku Company Limited (OPCL), insisting the transaction was legal and transparent.  

The company said in a statement published by the Daily Graphic that the deal was a private transaction conducted in line with corporate governance rules after the Ghanaian government declined its right of first refusal to purchase the shares.  

“The Government of Ghana (GoG) assessed the offer for the sale of an 80 per cent stake in GBC in a private sale by Bosai Minerals and decided that it had no business running a mining enterprise, nor the finances to acquire the company, the working capital to run the company, or the significant investments required to turn the company round,” the statement said.  

The rebuttal follows calls by private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu for an investigation into the deal, arguing that the reported $12.5mn sale price grossly undervalued the company. He claimed GBC’s worth had risen to nearly $1bn within two years, suggesting that the government should not have relinquished its right to acquire the shares.  

Kpebu also alleged a conflict of interest in the transaction.  

GBC dismissed the claims as baseless, saying they were an attempt to undermine a Ghanaian company that was contributing to the economy.  

The company questioned why Bosai Minerals would sell its stake at an undervaluation if the company was performing well at the time of the sale. It noted that the government had also refused to exercise its right of first refusal in 2010, maintaining its position that running a mining company was not in its strategic interest.  

The company attributed its current valuation of $1bn to strategic investments and improved management.  

Even if the valuation were accurate, GBC argued, the government’s 20% stake would now be worth over $200mn, representing a nearly 8,000% increase in value within two years.  

Last year, Parliament ratified the extension of GBC’s mining lease for 30 years.  

Established over 80 years ago, GBC is Ghana’s sole bauxite mining company and operates the Awaso bauxite mine in the Western North region.  

Originally owned by the British Aluminium Company Ltd, the government acquired a 55% stake in 1972 as part of its policy to control key industries. However, production plummeted from 407,000 tonnes in 1974 to 64,000 tonnes in 1982, leading the government to divest its shares.  

In 1997, Canadian firm Alcan acquired an 80% stake, which was later sold to British-Australian multinational Rio Tinto before passing to China’s Bosai Minerals in 2010.  

In 2022, OPCL acquired Bosai’s stake, making GBC a wholly Ghanaian-owned company for the first time in its history.  

Founded in 1990, OPCL has extensive mining industry experience, providing haulage, transport, and climate change solutions.