Ghanaian gold mine ‘an engine for growth'

AngloGold Ashanti has big plans for its Obuasi gold mine in Ghana. Described by Kelvin Dushnisky, CEO and executive director of the mining company, as a mine in a class of its own on a number of metrics, it is currently under development at a cost of $550 million. This investment, said Dushnisky, would generate gold production of 400 000450 000 ounces a year over an estimated 20-year lifespan. “The fact is there are just not a lot of orebodies like it in the world,” he said. “It will be an engine of growth for this company. You need big, chunky engines of growth which, year after year, provide reliable, predictable production, and they don’t
come along very often.” With production costs expected to average around $800 per ounce, Obuasi offered excellent margins  and would see not only AngloGold Ashanti benefit but also the people of Ghana. Ghanaian president Nana Akufo-Addo said in years gone by Obuasi had been one of the richest gold mines in the world, yet a visit to the town would leave one doubting that. He said the Ghanaian parliament had welcomed AngloGold Ashanti’s return to the mine and approved the mine, but under an agreement that was far more balanced to both the country and its citizens and the mining house.