Ghana has an estimated 6 billion tonnes of iron ore reserves
• Ghana has an estimated 6 billion tonnes of iron ore reserves
•The mineral deposits when well exploited can propel economic growth
• Ghana’s importation bill of iron, steel and its articles stood at GH¢2.9 billion in 2020
The Director of Corporate Affairs at the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation (GIISDEC) has said Ghana has an estimated 6 billion metric tonnes of iron ore reserves.
According to Patrick Nyarko, the nation has been blessed with huge mineral deposits, when fully exploited and harnessed, can boost economic growth efforts.
“We’ve been mining gold and diamond in Ghana for a very long time but iron has least been exploited. If our industrialization drive is going to be successful, we cannot continue to ignore these important mineral resources we have in Ghana here. We have over 6 billion metric tonnes of the mineral currently with a potential to increase further,” Nyarko told Accra-based Asaase Radio.
He added that GIISDEC is keen on exploiting Ghana’s iron and steel deposits to rake in significant revenue to propel the economy.
“I doubt if there is any house in Ghana that doesn’t have an element of steel or iron in it. Look at the console in this studio, for instance, the surface is made of steel which is coming from the raw iron ore. Look at the Circle and Pokuase interchanges, for instance, they are held together by a huge steel structure. And that should explain the importance of the raw material to us,” he underscored.
Meanwhile, Board Chair GIISDEC, Farouk Aliu Mahama, has revealed Ghana’s importation bill of iron, steel and its articles stood at GH¢2.9 billion in 2020.
At the present, Ghana has iron ore deposits spread across parts of the country in the Upper West, Northern and Oti regions.