Ghana has selected Mytilineos Energy & Metals as a strategic partner for the construction of an alumina refinery and the development of a mine at Nyinahin-Mpasaaso, collectively known as Project 3A.

The Greek-founded multinational company, publicly listed on the Athens Stock Exchange, will play a crucial role in ensuring the success of the projects, reports the state-owned Daily Graphic. 

The aim is to contribute a minimum of 5mn tonnes of bauxite and approximately 2mn tonnes of alumina annually. 

The partnership was formalised in a recent agreement signed in Accra between the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) and Mytilineos. 

Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo commended GIADEC for its achievements and emphasised the immense potential of the integrated project for the country's industrialisation and transformation, according to the Daily Graphic. 

Ghana in November 2023 completed its first-ever Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) on bauxite, an ore used to make aluminium, revealing that deposits in the Nyinahin Block-B hills in the Ashanti Region are 50% higher than historically estimated.

While previous studies suggest 250mn metric tonnes of bauxite deposits in the three hills (4, 5 and 6), a recent MRE indicates that the locations hold a minimum of 375mn metric tonnes.

The West African country is hoping to be the first nation on the continent to achieve full vertical integration in the aluminium industry. Following up from what has been left of a 1960s attempt to develop the sector, GIADEC is seeking to attract $6bn worth of investments to create a value chain dominating Africa.

In September 2021, GAIDEC announced Rocksure as its partner for Project 2, one of four projects that defined Ghana’s Integrated Aluminium Industry (IAI) now being executed. Rocksure then commenced an MRE into Block-B to validate the bauxite resources.

Mytilineos Energy & Metals will execute Project 3A of the IAI Projects, which entails the development of a mine in Nyinahin Block C and the construction of a refinery.

Bauxite resources in Ghana are estimated at around 900mn metric tonnes and mainly concentrated in three areas: Awaso in the Western-North region with 60mn metric tonnes; Kyebi in the Eastern region with 160mn metric tonnes; and Nyinahin with 700mn metric tonnes.

GIADEC is targeting the aerospace, automobile, construction, pharmaceuticals and cable manufacturing industries, where demand for aluminium is growing, according to The Africa Report.

Analysts estimate the aluminium industry’s contribution to Ghana’s GDP to jump to 4% should it be fully developed from its current contribution of below 0.05%.

Cameroon, Egypt, South Africa and Guinea — the biggest bauxite producer — have made strides in their aluminium production processes in recent years, but are yet to achieve full vertical integration.