Western North Minister Tours Ghana Bauxite Company…Commends Management For Prioritising Development of Awaso
Story By Michael Ofosu-Afriyie, Kumasi
The Western North Regional Minister, Hon Wilbett Petty Brentum has highly commended the owners and management of the Ghana Bauxite Company (GBC) Limited for prioritising the development of the Awaso community.
Speaking to the media after touring the company’s site last Friday, Mr Brentum said it was encouraging that GBC had wholly employed Ghanaian staff to carry out their operations.
The Minister said these two things the company had done, makes it a stand out among many others in the country.
“It is gratifying to see a wholly owned Ghanaian company parry off the temptation to employ expatriates but had employed Ghanaian professionals to cause the development of the area through its mining operations”, the Minister stated.
Operations:
Visiting the mining sites and observing operations, the Regional Minister applauded GBC for placing high interest in the safety and welfare of its workers and staff.
He also praised the company for motivating its staff to stay committed and show happiness in the work they do.
Hon Brentum said he was happy with the investments GBC had made into their operations including retooling and the purchasing of highly sophisticated equipment.
“Government is happy to see GBC shows so much commitment to working to achieve optimum results and is heartwarming to see all these equipment here with the staff showing happiness at the work they do which is an indication that they are a motivated bunch”, the Minister stressed.
General Manager:
In a power pount presentation, the General Manager for GBC, Mr Alexander Gyedu said Ghana Bauxite Company Limited (GBC) was working to realise their target of producing 6 million tonnes of bauxite by the end of 2025.
To achieve this goal, the GM noted that the company has invested a substantial US$122.97 million in upgrading its infrastructure and operational efficiencies.
This significant investment, Mr Gyedu mentioned has enabled GBC to acquire a robust fleet of equipment, including surface miners, haulage trucks, dump trucks, excavators, and retooling of existing plant and machinery.
According to the General Manager stated that the company’s production volumes had already seen a significant boost.
“The use of both surface mining and drill and blast methods has increased production from 1.3 million tonnes per annum to about 1.8 million tonnes in 2024”, the General Manager stressed.
Background:
Giving a background to the company’s operations, Mr Gyedu said the ongoing historic production milestone was due to the investment and take over of GBC by the Ofori-Poku Company Limited (OPCL) from the Bosai Group in 2022.
He intimated that the OPCL’s acquisition of GBC had brought about significant changes, including the replacement of old and dilapidated equipment.
As of February 2025, the General Manager said OPCL had acquired 42 new earth-moving equipment, 52 new dump trucks, 16 new utilities, one surface miner, and 35 new light-duty vehicles, among others.
“The company is expecting the delivery of a second surface miner by the end of June 2025 and i must say our haulage department has also seen significant improvements, with OPCL adding 161 fleet of 9-axle trucks since taking over in 2022.”, the GM noted.
