Parliament has unanimously ratified the Mining Lease granted by Government to Ghana Bauxite Company to mine bauxite at Awaso in the Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai Municipality of the Western North Region. This was after a joint Parliamentary Committee of Mines and Energy and Lands and Forestry presented its report to the House on Wednesday, 26th June, 2024.

The Awaso bauxite mine forms an integral part of Government’s policy to build an integrated aluminium industry in the country. The Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC), which was established to promote and develop integrated aluminium industry in the country, has identified this mine as one of its Four Projects to build an integrated industry. As part of its strategy, GIADEC is working with strategic investors to expand the mine and build a refinery solution to refine bauxite mined in the area.

Currently, the Ghana Bauxite Company, which been in existence for over eighty (80) years, is the only bauxite producing company in the country. The Company has gone through different phases since it started operation in the 1940s. Originally owned by the British Aluminium Company Ltd, Government acquired fifty-five percent (55%) stake in the company in 1972, under the Mining Operations (Government Participation) Decree, 1972 (NRCD 132), passed pursuant to the National Redemption Council’s policy of “taking over the commanding heights of the economy.”