Investigations conducted by Today point to plans by some gold mining companies in Ghana to be closed down or sold mainly due to the rolling power shortage that is greatly affecting their commercial operations.
And as part of efforts to salvage the situation, Today understands that the Chamber of Mines has continuously called for lower taxes on diesel but the government of President John Dramani Mahama appears not to be interested in the plight of the mining companies.
Although the embattled Minister of Power, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, has redeemed his promise by resigning after failing to fix the electricity cuts in 2015, Today gathered that gold mining companies in Ghana are still suffering to break even.
Today overheard that mines which are at the edge and are looking for buyers due to a combination of factors.
Today also gathered that some of the gold mining companies cannot pile up other unplanned costs like using generators for long hours.
Early January 2015, Today gathered that mining companies all over the world enjoyed longer operational hours for less cost because of low oil prices.
However, Ghana’s oil taxes made it impossible for companies in the country to enjoy the rollback.
Factors that affected power shortage in Ghana included falling water levels that power up hydroelectric dams and the shortfall of natural gas in the country.
The common practice is that the government pulls the plug on electricity for up to two days in order to offset the shortage.
According to reports, mining companies have also decided to sell their mines because of falling gold prices.
Also, early in January 2015, gold prices soared thanks to a number of factors including the European Central Bank’s Quantitative Easing and India curbing its gold import law.
While falling gold prices are used as a signal to sell by some, others are not affected by it.
Ghana is Africa’s second largest gold producer and the closure of some of its mines would significantly affect its GDP.
Gold currently makes up for 90% of the total mineral exports in the country.
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