Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO), Dr. Robert Malika Sambian, has noted that government’s plans for an integrated aluminium industry could position VALCO as one of the biggest aluminium smelters on the African continent.
Speaking on Citi Eyewitness News on Wednesday, February 4, Dr. Sambian disclosed that the long-term vision is to transform VALCO into Africa’s biggest single-site smelter, with a target of producing more than 1.5 million metric tonnes of aluminium by 2035.
According to him, the plan is achievable due to Ghana’s vast bauxite deposits, which he said can support sustainable mining for more than a century.
Dr. Sambian explained that under government’s policy of developing an integrated aluminium industry, VALCO could potentially secure a bauxite mining concession to strengthen its production chain.
He said this would allow the company to refine bauxite into alumina locally and feed it directly into the smelter, a move he believes will significantly improve VALCO’s competitiveness.
He added that the proposed expansion could generate thousands of jobs across the entire value chain
“Per government’s policy of achieving an integrated aluminium industry in the country, VALCO can make a case for a bauxite mining concession where we will refine the bauxite into alumina and send it to the smelter for production which improves its competitiveness. That is where the 5000 jobs come from. You will have the people producing the alumina, you will have the people power plants, first port line and they will be runnng 24-Hour economy as well,” he said.
