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| Mr Ababio delivering the welcome address at the inauguration ceremony. |
EMMALAND Resources Ghana Limited, an iron ore mining company, has been granted prospecting license to exploit for iron ore in the Sheini Hills of Zabzugu Tatale in the Northern Region of Ghana.
The license issued to the company covers an area of approximately 55 kilometres long by an average of seven kilometres wide and approximately 400 square kilometres.
A large deposit of the mineral which can last for 200 years has been found in that area.
The mining project, a joint venture between Emmaland and Cadero Resource Corporation, will focus on a large scale undeveloped iron deposit with world class potential, and the project is anticipated to add considerably to the Ghanaian economy.
This marks a turning point in Ghana’s dependence on gold and cocoa as a major contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
With regard to employment creation, the company at its current exploratory stages has developed and maintained a well-resourced exploratory team, largely staffed by the local people, with some expatriate input.
Its also targeting to employ more than 10,000 people.
At a ceremony to inaugurate Emmaland Minerals Centre, the Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, said the government had put in place several interventions to generate employment for the people of Ghana and had invested GH¢84 million to expand the Local Enterprises and Skills Development Programme (LESDEP) for more people to gain employable skills.
He said government was “pleased to see an indigenous Ghanaian company partnering with a multinational company to create jobs for the people, especially the youth.”
Mr Ankrah stated that the government would support the initiative to make the project a success as long as they worked in accordance to the laws of the land and also work for the benefit of the indigenous people.
The Member of Parliament for Okaikoi North Constituency, Mrs Elizabeth K. T. Sackey, said the introduction of the “Golden Age of Business” by the past administration, under the leadership of the former President John Agyekum Kufuor was, therefore, not a mere rhetoric as it was to promote the private sector as the engine growth of the national economy.
According to Mrs Sackey, the government has introduced and promoted a business atmosphere with, “less government intervention, with a view to creating an enabling environment that would accelerate the growth of businesses in the country.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the Emmaland’s Resources Ghana Ltd, Mr Emmanuel Ababio, told the Daily Graphic that the company was conscious about its social responsibility so it had graded the road to link Zabzugu to the Sheini Hills and constructed a bridge over the river between the Sheini and Camp A.
He said the company was rehabilitating the Presidential Lodge at Zabzugu to use as a field office.
“We will also bring more revenue to support Ghana’s economy” he said, stating that the company would bring into the country $4.6 billion for the initial project.
Mr Ababio said the joint company was looking forward to becoming one of the first or second largest iron ore companies in the world.
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