President John Dramani Mahama has inaugurated the Gold Coast (GC) Refinery Ghana Limited, which officials say is the largest gold refinery in West Africa and the second largest in Africa.
Located within the Airport Light Industrial Area in Accra, the $110 million plant has the capacity to refine raw dust, scrap gold and other precious metals up to 180 metric tonnes per annum in a single shift production.
The refinery is the initiative of the Euroget Group of Egypt, Banking and Financial Services (BAFIS), an international joint stock company, and some local shareholders.
It is also expected to provide direct and indirect jobs to 300 and 1200 people respectively.
Although the history of the country in gold production dates back to over 100 years, the quest to add value to the raw gold had remained only a dream.
That is why the President described the refinery as a dream come true and a stamp of approval of Ghana’s investment climate.
“This is the fruit of perseverance and vision,” the President said of the investors, and thanked them for the confidence they had in the Ghanaian economy.
As the country’s investment continued to get better, President Mahama said he believed that investors would continue to take advantage to put their money in Ghana.
“Ghana is recognised as the number one country with the ease of doing business index”, he said, mentioning various factors, including the legal and political climate as contributors to the development.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Euroget Group, Dr Said Deraz, said the investors had never regretted taking the decision to invest in Ghana.
“The RC Refinery, in collaboration with its Canadian partners, will support and promote sustainable organisation on artisanal and small-scale miners to create access to technology, machines, equipment and financing, which are essential to improve capacity”, he said.
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By: Citibusinessnews.com