Several aluminium producers are interested in buying Volta Aluminium Co. Ltd. (Valco), Ghana's primary aluminium smelter, a company official said on Friday.

"I know several major players who've shown interest in Valco," Charles Mensah, Valco's Ghanaian resident director, told Joy FM, a private radio station.

Mensah declined to name those interested.

Last month, U.S. firm Kaiser Aluminum Corp. said it expected to sell its 90 percent interest in Valco to Ghana for between $35 million and $100 million by April 30, 2004.

Last April, Kaiser completely shut down Valco's primary production due to power shortages. The smelter in Tema, Ghana's main port, has five potlines or production lines, each with production capacity of 40,000 tonnes annually.

Because aluminum giant Alcoa Inc. owns 10 percent of Valco, Ghana's purchase is subject to Alcoa's right of first refusal pursuant to Valco's corporate governance requirements.

Mensah said Alcoa had declined to pick up Kaiser's share.

Ghanaian Energy Minister Paa Kwesi Nduom said the government was carrying out due diligence on Valco.

"We're highly interested in being involved in the company preferably as a shareholder, but we don't want to run it," Nduom told Joy FM. "Our preference would be a sort of partnership."

Nduom also said the Ghanaian government would investigate the possibility of mining bauxite deposits in Ghana's east.

"We would consider bringing in the raw material initially, but the vision should be to use our own bauxite deposits in order to have an integrated aluminium industry," Nduom said.