Ghana’s gold industry would receive a major boost with the expected establishment of a gold refinery which is expected to be the biggest in West Africa. .

The $15 million project, expected to take off by the last quarter of this year would be undertaken by C. C. Global Investments and would be situated on the Spintex road in Accra. C. C. Global Investments with sister companies in Dubai, USA, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, have investments in other businesses apart from its gold. The company is also into construction and medicine.

The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Dr. Mustapha Muradi, in an interview said the refinery is expected to create more jobs for Ghanaians. “Benefits to the state include job creation for about 100 people, as well as value addition to Ghana’s gold. Thus, instead of shipping the gold to elsewhere to be refined, it can be refined in the presence of the owner and shipped as pure gold of about 99.99 per cent,” he stated.

He added: “What the country currently exports is 92 per cent gold and the tax element which translates into revenue is also based on the 92 per cent but when it is 99.99 per cent, its value is much higher and the taxes are also higher.”

Dr Muradi stated that 97 per cent of the gold refined in Ghana would be exported to the European, Middle East, American and possibly the Asian markets, noting that, the remaining three percent would be left for the state.

According to him, a team of 21 engineers and technicians would be in the country for a period of one-month to train Ghanaians expected to work in the refinery, stressing that, all the work would be executed by the local people, even though few personnel would come from abroad. Dr. Muradi said his outfit had decided to set up the refinery in Ghana, due to the country’s political and economic stability.

“I look at my safety first. There are other areas that have bigger gold in Africa, but they are not safe states. Liberia, Guinea and South Africa for instance have gold in abundance but you can not walk in South Africa without having body guards around you. However, the situation is very different here in Ghana. Ghana is 99 percent safe, and this is better than about 50 percent in these countries,” he maintained.

The CEO of C. C. Global Investments noted that the company might extend its operations to jewelry manufacturing in the next few years, and would partner with educational institutions namely Tarkwa School of Mines, and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to that effect.

Dr. Muradi, who expressed concern about what he termed as gold scamming in Africa, contended that his outfit’s prime motive of setting up the refinery in Ghana is to stop the gold scamming business that is going on in African countries.

Dr. Muradi asserted that the project would be refining over 300 kilogrammes of gold daily, and hence, the gold in Ghana would not be sufficient for the refinery. Consequently, he said other countries would be turning to Ghana to refine their gold and this according to him, would be more beneficial to Ghana as it would bring more revenues to the state and also project Ghana’s image internationally.

The CEO noted that the company is not partnering with any local company in Ghana, but would ensure that it establishes a closer tie with the mining companies already operating in the country in order to operate smoothly.

Dr. Muradi who claimed that Ghana is his second home hoped that the Ghana Chamber of Mines would back him so that together they can work as a team, and was optimistic that the future looks bright for the gold industry in Ghana. He appealed to the government and the people of Ghana to support him fulfill his dream of making the country the hub of Africa in terms of gold refinery.