- Electrochem targets 2m tonnes per annum by 2023
- 6,000 jobs to create with Chiefs rallying youth support
Salt mining company, Electrochem Ghana Limited is projecting to mine 2 million tonnes of salt from the Ada Songor Lagoon annually from 2023. This projection is coming on the back of feasibility studies conducted in the enclave after the company secured a 15-year lease to resuscitate salt mining in the area to enhance the local and national economy.
60,000 tonnes of salt was mined from the enclave in 2020 with plans to mine 200,000 tonnes this year on the back of Electrochem’s new investments. The company is thus hopeful to increase its production capacity to 1 million tonnes in 2022 and subsequently to 2 million in 2023.
This would mean that the country would become a significant player in the supply of salt for industrial use globally if these projections are realized. Already, some 650,000 tonnes of salt was exported for global industrial use.
David Cameron, General Manager of Electrochem Ghana Limited said: “the salt produced from the Ada Songor Lagoon has been tested and is of high quality, comparable to any on the international market.
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“From the work we have done, we realized that the productivity data here are far more than many salt mining locations globally. Already, we have had a lot of interest from Nigeria, and we would be pursuing all. Our main aim is to target international companies that are procuring top-quality salt because we would be producing very high-quality salt,” he said in an interview after the Ada Traditional Council toured the enclave to ascertain work done and rally the youth in the area to support the operations of the mine.
Ada Traditional Council
The Ada Traditional Council, led by the Ada paramount chief, Nene Abram Kabu Akuaku III was pleased with the work done so far and urged all communities in the enclave to support the operations of Electrochem.
“We are deeply excited and happy for this project; we are very happy that even for the small-scale miners who were here before the lease was granted to Electrochem, they have been given a better place and assured for higher production with the support of Electrochem,” he said.
Electrochem has also promised to buy the salt produced by the locals if they wish to sell at market price. Therefore, the locals would not have a hard time selling their products.
Jobs
The Chairman of Electrochem Ghana Limited, Daniel McKorley has assured residents of communities located around the Ada Songor Salt Project that they will not be excluded from exploiting the salt resource in the Songor lagoon.
He disclosed that over 1,000 indigenes of Ada have already been employed in various capacities at the concession in four months. He further disclosed that when the salt mine becomes fully operational, over 6,000 direct and indirect jobs would be created.
The company is also planning to attract some more companies who heavily use salt to Ada to help provide more employment and open up the communities to attract more economic opportunities.
