MIIF to support development of industrial salt as a strategic mineral in Ghana
The Minerals Income and Investment Fund (MIIF) has revealed ambitious plans to support the development of the salt industry in Ghana, with the Ada Songhor Lagoon at the forefront of its strategy. Following a working tour of the lagoon by the Board, Management of MIIF and officials of the Ghana Stock Exchange, it has been determined that the Ada Salt pans on the Songhor Lagoon have the potential to be the largest salt producing area in south of the Sahara.
The scale of the Ada Songhor salt project is immense, sitting on some 41,000 acres straddling at least thirty-three (33) Ada Communities, making it larger in acreage than Walvis Bay of Namibia, which is about 16,700 acres and is the largest in the south of the Sahara. Officials of Electrochem Ghana Limited, the Ghanaian company developing the salt pans, estimate that the Songhor has the potential to produce more than 5 million MT at capacity with an estimated 650,000 metric tons (mt) of industrial salt in 2023 and circa 1.5 million MT over the next five years with a 99.99% purity.
MIIF has declared salt as a priority mineral in Ghana in line with its investment strategy of generating downstream to upstream value from every single mineral. Professor Douglas Boateng, the Board Chairman of MIIF, said, “the Fund is targeting investments across the producing areas in the Greater Accra and Central regions of Ghana”. The CEO of MIIF, Mr. Koranteng, stressed that “Salt is an infinite resource with over 14,000 uses. At full potential and with such expansive usage, salt in Ghana has the potential to earn circa $500 Million a year in foreign exchange with Nigeria and the rest of the West African region as priority markets”.
As a raw material, salt covers the pharmaceuticals, food processing, oil and gas, food preservation, production of caustic soda, the textiles industry, mining, road maintenance, hospitals and hospitality sectors, all of which require high grade salt to support the manufacturing of inputs or processing. This is the reason why MIIF is excited about this opportunity for Ghana and is currently working on a broad-based investment which would include a listing of the project on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
The Ada Songhor pans present numerous opportunities, including two export jetties to facilitate export and other lake transport opportunities, the creation of massive employment in the producing areas, and the substantial revitalization of the local economies. To this end, MIIF has confirmed that Electrochem Ghana Limited has agreed to list on the Ghana Stock Exchange as a condition to MIIF’s investment, in accordance with MIIF’s investment strategy to ensure that all major investments are listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
The Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange, Ms. Abena Amoah, who is also a member of the Investment Advisory Committee (IAC) of MIIF, stated, “What I have come to see here, really warms my heart. A great company is underpinned by the quality of the asset. We can become Africa’s number one salt producer, the sea never dries, the technology exists to mine the salt, the market for salt is not in doubt and with some ringfencing and great risk management, the investment in Electrochem and its listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange will be a win-win for all Ghanaians.”
The Ada Songhor Salt Project was constructed in the 1970s and by acreage is the largest in south of the Sahara. It has faced several challenges over the years including lack of investment and was vested in the Government in 1992. Following a five-year investment endeavour which required garnering and courting community support from Electrochem Ghana.
