The Precious Mineral Marketing Company (PMMC) has discovered vast quantities of two semi-precious minerals, serpentine and jasper, in the Volta and Eastern Regions of Ghana.

The company is at the moment negotiating with a Swedish company to carry out exploration to establish their quantum.

The two minerals, when refined and processed into carvings and decorative ornaments, have huge commercial value in places such as Arizona in the United States, which is one of the large markets in the world.

Managing Director of PMMC, Peter Boachie, presented a cheque for 300 million cedis to the government as dividend for the year ending 2001 in Accra. Mines minister, Kwadwo Adjei-Darko, (MP) received the cheque on behalf of the government.

Mr. Boachie mentioned some of the areas where the company had made the discovery as Anum and Kwamekrom, all in the Volta Region and said the exploration of the minerals forms part of the company's effort to expand their business and generate more foreign exchange. It would also generate employment in the rural areas.

Other areas of prospect included forming partnership with especially, private foreign companies to set up a factory to refine gold and polish diamonds for exports.

PMMC says it needs private partnership to be able to manufacture jewellery in Ghana because the company did not have the technology. PMMC has so far contacted three foreign companies, which were rejected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because their method of using chlorine was not environmentally friendly. Electrolysis would have been preferred.

The major problem facing the company was the unpredictable world market prices of precious stones, which dipped at any given time.

Small-scale miners, who were the source of the company’s raw materials needs larger concessions to enable them to produce large quantities of gold and diamonds for sale to the company.

The PMMC has therefore contacted the Minerals Commission to allocate more land to the small-scale miners. PMMC sometimes have to purchase the minerals from 'galamsey' miners in order to prevent smuggling into neighbouring countries.

The Mines Minister urged the company to improve on its work in order to earn more than they do now. He said even though the company had improved on last year's dividend, which was 200 million cedis, there is the need to do more.

With regards to foreign exchange contribution to the nation, PMMC recorded 29.5 million dollars in 1999 but declined to 28.9 million dollars in 2000. The figure improved to 31.7 million dollars in 2001 and stood at 17.2 million dollars as at July this year.

Mr. Adjei-Darko said the latter figure was an indication that the company would earn more than it did in previous years but urged them to improve on their activities such as forming subsidiary companies to allow for local and foreign private sector investments in their operations.