Goldfields Ghana marks 25 years - outlines initiatives to drive further growth

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Goldfields Ghana marks 25 years – outlines initiatives to drive further growth

Goldfields Ghana marked 25 years of surface mining operations in Ghana and the company outlined a number of initiatives to drive further growth in the coming years.
Executive Vice President and Head of West Africa, Alfred Baku, on Monday, May 28, 2018, listing their achievements and contribution to National Development listed Goldfields investment of US$15million sponsorship in the Black Stars which enabled the team to qualify, for the first time, to the World Cup in Germany in 2006. Under our sponsorship, the team made two African Cup of Nations appearances and also participated in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, earning the punch-line; “BaGhana BaGhana.

“While we look back to our 25 years of existence in Ghana with a huge sense of pride, we are even more optimistic about the future. With the ongoing optimisation of our operations, our focus on exploration, and the extension of our footprint in Ghana through our recent joint venture with Asanko, we see a Gold Fields that is poised for greater things in the years ahead,” he said.
Indeed, throughout the 25 years’ journey, we have improved livelihoods, and continue to lead and drive positive transformations within our host communities and nationally. Please permit me to highlight a few of our key achievements and milestones in the course of our journey in Ghana.
Recounting achievements of the mining firm over the years, Mr Baku said a firm demonstration of the firm’s hunger for operational success is how it turned a low-grade Tarkwa deposit into a flagship mining operation that delivers returns to shareholders, including the Government of Ghana every year.
CONTRIBUTION TO NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
“The Damang mine, which was on the verge of collapse, was given a fresh breath of life with a $1.4 billion investment approved by the Gold Fields Board in 2016.

“Our Tarkwa and Damang mines create over 7,000 direct and indirect jobs annually. Even with a conservative multiplier effect calculation, we positively impact the livelihoods of between 70,000 and 100,000 people year-in-year-out, mostly within our host communities and along our supply chain,” he said.

Financially, the company has paid around $1 billion in dividends to shareholders, since the beginning of its surface mining operations in 1998.

“Of this amount, the Government of Ghana, having a 10% ownership through a free-carried interest, has earned in excess of $100 million in dividend payments. In addition, Gold Fields has paid over $1.2billion directly to the Government in corporate taxes and royalties. Let me hasten to add that even though we’ve been around for 25 years, the first three to five years was spent developing the mine,” Mr Baku recounted.
HappyGhana.com