Newmont Ghana says supports country’s economy with $360m
Newmont Ghana Gold Limited says it added value to the Ghanaian economy with $360 million from its Ahafo Mine through linkages with other sectors.
The company said it supports value added in terms of household income, profits and savings and tax payments besides the full-time employment the company created for Ghanaians.
A statement by Newmont Ghana and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Thursday, said “the Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation amplified the economic effect with another 23 per cent in terms of value-added activities.
The statement said Newmont Ghana arrived at the value from findings of its second socio-economic impact assessment of the Ahafo Mine, conducted by Steward Redqueen, an internationally renowned strategy consultancy firm, supported by PAB Consult.
The study, which was conducted from March 2012 to April 2013, traced the ripple effects of the Ahafo Mine’s 2011 spending in Ghana and the Brong-Ahafo Region.
The study was a follow-up to an earlier one in 2010, which focused on the impact of the spending of Newmont Ghana’s Ahafo Mine in 2009 on the national economy.
The study gathered that “in 2011, Newmont Ghana expended more than $412 million in the Ghanaian economy, with $360 million of value added to the Ghanaian economy, half of which was in the form of government income.
Newmont paid $160 million in taxes, while suppliers paid an additional 1$8 million, representing a five-fold increase in tax payments since 2009.
In addition of the Ahafo Mine’s $412 million spending in Ghana, $182 million was spent on procurement of products and services in Ghana, where total spending in the Brong-Ahafo Region was $33 million of which $18 million was spent on suppliers.”
The statement said Newmont directly employed 2,229 people, while the presence of the Ahafo Mine supported another 39,000 jobs in the country resulting in a total of 41,000 jobs.
Furthermore, 9,000 out of the 41,000 jobs created were in the Asutifi District where the Ahafo Mine is located.
The study report however did not include the impact of the Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation of which the company supports with one dollar for every ounce of gold mined and one per cent of pre-tax profits.
The Fund has so far accrued about $23 million and has been used for several sustainable development programmes in the 10 host communities of the Ahafo Mine.
Johan Ferreira, Regional Senior Vice President, Newmont Africa was quoted in the statement as saying, “the study reinforces the fact that the Ahafo Mine is a significant contributor to the Ghanaian economy.
With the coming on board of our Akyem Mine, we hope to create more opportunities that would continue to benefit the national and local economies over the longer term”.
Mr Ferreira said the study, however, showed an increasing dependence on the presence of the Ahafo Mine and the need to institute entrepreneurial capacity building initiatives for businesses within the Asutifi District and the broader Brong Ahafo Region.
“Taking this approach will diversify the local business environment and ensure that the market economy remains vibrant long after the closure of the Mine”, he added.
In collaboration with our stakeholders, we will continue to explore opportunities that will increase local content participation as well as enhance the entrepreneurial capacity of our host communities,” Mr Ferreira said.
Newmont Ghana is one of the largest gold mining companies in the world, and operates the Ahafo Mine in the Brong-Ahafo Region and the Akyem Project in the Birim North District of the Eastern Region.
Source: GNA