As part of efforts to provide sustainable economic opportunities to help boost income levels of women in its host communities, AngloGold Ashanti (Iduapriem) Limited has commenced construction of a soap production factory in New Tokunaso in the Prestea-Huni Valley Municipality.
The ultra-modern factory, which is eighty-five percent complete, will have an office, raw materials sculpturing area, processing area, packaging area, and products storeroom, among other facilities.
Products from the factory will include liquid soap, carbolic, bar soap, bleach, disinfectants, and hand sanitizers. Work on the USD 78,197.49 facility, equivalent to GH₵ 445,726, commenced in June 2020 and would be completed and handed over in October 2020.
Senior Manager, Sustainability for Iduapriem Mine, Mr. Stephen Adjei, commented that the factory would be operated by the New Tokunaso Women’s Group, a 12-member group that received training in sustainable livelihood programs and other interventions from the company on completion.
He said the Mine had supported the group to register as a business entity with the Registrar General’s Department, under the business name Adwenpaye Association, and already have some products on the market certified by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
According to Mr. Adjei, the Mine provided the group with start-up kits required to produce assorted soap and detergents. The group was subsequently awarded a contract by the company to produce and supply certified liquid and carbolic soaps for handwashing purposes across the Mine and host communities as part of its COVID -19 response initiatives, which yielded about GH₵27,360 to the beneficiaries.
He added that the construction of the soap factory forms part of the expansion program to increase the number of beneficiaries along the value chain.
He reiterated that the New Tokunaso Soap Project is part of the many other initiatives under implementation by Iduapriem Mine to address the unemployment situation within its host communities to create a sustainable future of shared value with all stakeholders.
ABOUT ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI
AngloGold Ashanti, an international gold mining company with a globally diverse, high-quality portfolio of operations and projects, is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. Measured by production, AngloGold Ashanti is the third-largest gold mining company in the world and the largest on the African continent, producing 3.3Moz and employing 34,263 people in 2019.
AngloGold Ashanti has two operations in Ghana being Obuasi and Iduapriem Mines. Each of the Mines is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AngloGold Ashanti.
ABOUT IDUAPRIEM MINE
AngloGold Ashanti (Iduapriem) Limited operates the Iduapriem Mine in the Western Region of Ghana, about 17km southwest of Tarkwa.
The Iduapriem Mine started operation in June 1992 as the Ghanaian Australian Goldfields Limited.
It also became part of the AngloGold Group in 2004 following the business combination with Ashanti Goldfields Limited in 2004.
Iduapriem Mine is an open-pit operation comprising the Iduapriem and Teberebie mining leases covering an area 110km2 concession and encompassing 19 communities.
Iduapriem mine provides employment to about 2500 people, of which 99% are Ghanaians.