3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Cost competitiveness of Ghana’s gold mining industry(2019) Atta, Samuel KwameThe mining sector is a major contributor to tax revenues and foreign exchange earnings in Ghana. Gold accounts for about 95% of all revenues generated from the export of metals. Declining gold price after peaking at an average of US$1 669/oz. in 2012, led to staff rationalization in the gold mining industry. The downsizing reached a crescendo when AngloGold Ashanti shut down its Obuasi mine in 2016 after laying off 4 312 employees. The happenings in the gold mining industry motivated this research to ascertain the cost competitiveness of Ghana’s gold mining sector. This research was limited to large-scale mines due to the easy availability of verified data. The period of this study was between 2007 and 2016 to effectively capture a complete gold price cycle. Cost competitive analysis were conducted on all large-scale mines and companies in Ghana using a Microsoft Excel®-based algorithm from Tholana (2012) for constructing industry cost curves. Newmont’s Ahafo and Akyem mines were found to be consistent low unit cost producers. Ahafo and Akyem mines benefited from economies of scale, excellent recovery rate and efficient management. On the other hand, AngloGold Ashanti’s Obuasi mine and Golden Star’s Bogoso-Prestea mines were found to be consistent high unit cost producers. Obuasi mine was negatively affected by its inefficient labour intensive underground mining methods while the bane of Bogoso-Prestea mine was very low metallurgical recovery rates. Recovery rate and production output were found to have immense influence on unit cost of gold mines in Ghana and ultimately its position on the industry cost curve. Although variation in mill head grade has influence on unit cost for an individual mine, mill head grade had less influence on the position of the mine on the industry cost curve. This was because most surface mines were able to offset the effect of low grades with large production output. Annual escalation in electricity tariffs were also found to have far more effect on unit cost than fuel prices. Ghana’s gold mining industry had a cost competitive advantage over South Africa’s gold mining sector from 2009 to 2016. However, unit cost in Ghana’s gold mining sector was higher than the world’s average unit cost throughout the period of study which implied that Ghana’s gold mining industry was not cost competitive.Item Towards sustainable economic development in the gold mining areas of South Africa and Ghana(2017) Boaduo, Adwoa PokuaaIn many mineral resource rich African countries, mining activity makes a significant contribution towards the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and economic growth. This stimulus gives the mining industry the potential to fuel growth and development. Although some mining areas have been able to experience positive economic growth, many have struggled to achieve and sustain economic development due to the inability to manage mineral wealth challenges. African mining regulatory bodies generally lack proper local planning, resulting in inadequate policy instruments to enable the sector to make a sustainable contribution towards economic welfare. This research investigates how mineral wealth can be used as a catalyst for sustainable economic development. The research presents the case studies of three mining areas with the aim of determining why the economic development of Johannesburg differs substantially from that of Tarkwa and Obuasi. The research gives a comparative analysis of the political economy and socio-economic trends that have transpired in the three areas over the years. It ends by making recommendations on how Tarkwa and Obuasi can better manage the challenges of mineral wealth, and work towards achieving sustainable economic development that is like or even better than that of JohannesburgItem Mine call factor issues at Iduapriem mine: working towards a mineral and metal accounting protocol(2015-05-14) Tetteh, Monica Naa MorkorThe theory of Mine Call Factor (MCF) compares the sum of metal produced in recovery plus residue to the metal called for by the mines evaluation method expressed as a percentage. This MCF concept is well known in underground scenarios and therefore this report highlights the MCF issues and the variable components affecting it from a surface mine perspective. The MCF investigation established the relationship between actual measurements and reporting against measurement protocols. Such measurements include “tonnage, volume, relative density, reconciliation strategy, and truck tonnage determination, sampling and assay standards. This study investigated how these measurements are conducted on Iduapriem Mine according to the mine’s standard operating procedures (SOP). An improvement of documents towards a metal accounting protocol based on the AMIRA protocol is recommended. The mine’s current quality control protocol was further expanded to reflect current practices. The mine to mill reconciliation compared production estimates from various sources (resource model, grade control model, pit design, plant and stockpile, truck tally, stockpile and plant feed, plant feed and plant received) in the period 2009 and 2010. Reconciliation factors expressed as a percentage were statistically analysed for discrepancies for tonnages and grades. It was realised that there is more confidence in mass (tonnage) measurement compared to grade. A generic mine to mill reconciliation path was suggested to be used by the mine.