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The management of Precious Minerals Marketing Company Ltd. (PMMC) says that after successfully installing the necessary equipment in its new laboratory, it officially began the official examination, determination and analysis popularly known as testing of all gold for export both by from small to large companies. scale miners in the country since 2018.
PMMC Acting Managing Director Venance Dey, commenting on the operations of the gold analysis laboratory at Kotoka International Airport (KIA), noted that installed equipment includes an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer; Electrical conductivity tester for gold; Technical Specifications for the Ultrasonic Flaw Detector; Specific gravity frame for density determination, among others.
He indicated that with the laboratory in operation, the streak of gold smuggling that until now had plagued the country is being controlled and blocked, which improves the generation of income for the government.
In addition, he mentioned that in November 2016, the PMMC was designated as the national assayer for all gold produced in the country by small and large miners before exports, at the same time that it ceded its function of buying, selling and shipping gold to licensed gold exporters.
“With this mandate, it means that, for the first time in the history of Ghana’s gold mining, there is an institution that is mandated to analyze gold from mines prior to export, bringing sanity to the system such as values and volumes. gold bullion is now being tested, ”he said.
It revealed that the Minerals Commission, through the Ministry of Sector, Lands and Natural Resources, obtained funds from the World Bank to install the state-of-the-art facilities in KIA’s Aviance Village and then handed them over to PMMC to operate.
Mr. Dey said that since the completion of the work, the company has been analyzing gold exported out of the country.
According to him, the project brings transparency and accountability in the processing of gold, which allows documenting all the information about gold exported outside the country, highlighting that it would allow the government to verify the true value of gold exports and this would reduce the problem of money laundering in the gold business.
“After testing, the values are recorded against the weight of the sample and this is used to calculate the final value of the bullion shipment. At the final gold destination, the value of PMMC is reconciled with the refinery value at the destination to arrive at the final value of both the mines and PMMC bullion. This allows PMMC to calculate revenue generation and, as such, reduces the parent companies’ instance in the incidence of under-invoicing, ”he explained.
He argued that the measure is very useful to prop up the country’s earnings from abroad and help reverse the declining value of the cedi against the country’s main commercial currencies, as there would be enough foreign exchange in the system.
“Revenues would improve as exporters are required to repatriate 70 percent of the export value obtained from gold. The repatriation policy would be implemented effectively and this would ensure that there is enough dollar in the country, which at the end of the day would make the cedi perform credibly against foreign currencies, ”Dey said.
The acting MD mentioned that the system would similarly reduce the problem of income disparity between foreign companies that receive gold and institutions that export gold.
Mr. Dey was quick to say that for now, in the smelting process, PMMC personnel are present at the mines to observe and monitor the process to ensure that the amount being smelted is correct and well documented.
According to him, during smelting, a sample of the gold poured from each bullion bar is taken, sealed and packaged, after which it is transported to KIA for analysis to determine the findings.
The sample, he said, “is received from the helicopter in the company of personnel from Immigration, GRA and National Security, who then transport it to the laboratory for analysis. At this point, Immigration staff join PMMC officials to verify the bullion and determine that the number of bars is equal to that declared. This measure is to reduce the underestimation of the income of the mining companies, since PMMC will now analyze to know the correct value of the ingots that each company exports. “
However, the acting CEO assured that in the coming years, PMMC would undertake a full bullion analysis, which he said would mean that the gold would be refined in Ghana prior to export and this would ensure added value..
Mr. Dey indicated that in order to have an efficient and effective human resource capacity to sustain the project, PMMC undertook a two-week training and capacity building program led by a consultant from South Africa, and they have been very effective ever since.
Until now, large-scale mining companies had set up their own testing facilities and thus exported minerals without PMMC certification or authentication.
By Innocent Appiah
