12 COMPANIES GRANTED IRON MINING RIGHTS (BACK PAGE, FEB 4, 2011)

A BATTLE for Ghana’s iron ore is gradually hitting up as 12 companies are fronting for the licences to begin the mining of the iron ore deposits located in Sheini in the Zabzugu/Tatale district of the Northern Region.
According to the Minerals Commission, the 12 companies were given due diligence permits and this allows each one of them to search for the mineral within the area by geo-chemical and photo-geological surveys or other remote sensing techniques within a specified period of time.
Six of the companies received their licences in 2008 and they are Gold Coast Resources Limited, Marula Mines Ghana Limited, Integrated Metals Limited, Azumah Metals Ghana Limited, Inland Ghana Mines Limited and Minergy Resources Limited.
The other companies that were given the permits in 2010 are Pan African Minerals Company Limited, RSP International Ghana Limited, Compass Resources Limited, Emmaland Resources Limited, Wesun-Lu Ghana Mining Limited and Trans Global Drilling, Energy Exploration Limited.
Already, one of the companies fronting for the licence, Emmaland Resources Limited and its Canadian partners, Cardero Resources, have undertaken some projects in the district to demonstrate their readiness to help develop the town when given the licence.
The two companies are renovating the Presidential Lodge of the district assembly and also rehabilitating the road from Zabzugu to Sheini, which is about 13 miles.
A visit to the site also revealed that the two companies were on the rocky-hills of Sheini gathering geo-chemical information on the iron ore deposits in the area.
The Senior Geologist on the site, Dr Karel Maly said the workers had dug about 50 trenches on the site to enable them extract the samples, which would be tested in due course.
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be extracted. It is therefore the predominant source of raw materials for the production of steel.
Information available on the Mining Portal of Ghana indicates that there are three main iron ore deposits in Ghana, which are yet to be exploited and they are Shieni, Oppong Mansi and Pudo.
It notes that recent discoveries of iron ore deposits have also been made at Adum Banso in the Western Region, which is yet to be fully evaluated.
If the iron ore mining operation kick-starts in Sheini, the Zabzugu area would see tremendous transformation since the project would come along with other major infrastructural developments, such as the construction of roads and railway lines.
There is also avenue for employment creation as thousands of people would be employed to work in the mines and other allied businesses.
In an interview, the District Chief Executive for Zabzugu-Tatale, Mr Umar Abdul-Wahab noted that the district was hoping that the licence would be given to any of the companies that had shown the capacity to operate the Sheini mines.
“What we are interested in is a company that has both technical and financial wherewithal to operate the mines and at the same time, be socially and environmentally friendly,” he stated.