The management of Gold Fields Ghana Limited (Tarkwa mine) says it is able to recover 97% of gold from low grade ore processed through its plant, and that for every 1 tonne of ore mined, an equivalent of 5.5 tonnes of waste was stripped and this was impacting negatively on cost.
“As I mentioned, that our mine has low grade and high strip ratio deposits, and that for every 1 tonne of ore mined, we have to strip an equivalent of 5.5 tonnes of waste.”
Management also explained that the capacity of its processing plant had moved from 4.2 million annually to the current 14 million, because they had persistently been upgrading it.
Addressing journalists at a media soiree in Tarkwa, the General Manager of the mine, Stephen Osei-Bempeh, said the company was exploring various options to deal with the challenge.
He explained that the decision to switch the operating model from owner mining to contract mining was to sustain the business and that the contract mining model had bailed out the mine from having to invest significantly in its ageing fleet when the mining life was short.
He said by investing in exploration after opting for contract mining, the company was able to increase the mining life from 6-7 years to 10 years as of December 2021. The total life of the mine as of December 2021 was 14 years.
Mr. Osei-Bempah told the media that Gold Fields was committed to creating enduring value beyond mining, which was evident in the manifold of legacy projects it had earmarked for its host communities.
Currently, the mining giant is constructing a 10,400-capacity stadium at Tarkwa, which is 73% complete. The Project Manager for Gold Fields, Roger Adama, who led journalists to tour the Tarkwa and Abosso stadium, gave the assurance that the project would be delivered on time.
He said but for risks such as COVID-19 and delays in taking delivery of hot galvanised steel, the project would have progressed beyond the 73% completion stage by now.
Another legacy project, a 350-bed capacity girls’ dormitory for the Hunni-Valley Senior High School, was also under construction and nearing completion.
Present at the media soiree were the Acting General Manager of the Damang mine, Charles Kofi Nti, Regional Sustainable Development Manager, Robert Siaw, Community Affairs Manager for Tarkwa mine, Florence Ansere-Bioh, Regional Manager for Corporate Affairs and Stakeholder Engagement, Emma Morrison, and other management members.
