Ghana+Strategic+Minerals

=Bosai Minerals Will Continue To Make Significant Investments Into Ghana's Bauxite Industry=

Executive Summary:
It is likely that Chinese companies, specifically Bosai Minerals, will continue to make significant investments into Ghana's mineral mining and production industry especially in to bauxite and gold. In 2010, Bosai Minerals Group purchased 80 percent of the shares of Ghana Bauxite Company from mining giant Rio Tinto for an amount of USD 30 million. Bosai Minerals plans to develop the Awaso bauxite mine along with the surrounding area. Ghana's mining industry currently depends on gold for the majority of its production, however, only two Chinese companies, Shaanxi Mining Company and Modern Gold Refinery, are involved in the Ghanaian gold industry.

Discussion:
Ghana's mining industry accounts for 5 percent of the country's GDP and 37 percent of the country's total exports. Ghana is Africa's second largest gold producer, with 90 percent of its mineral exports being gold. Ghana is rich in natural resources and has several Chinese investors involved in the mining industry. While Chinese companies have invested into the gold and bauxite sectors, there have been no investments into other mineral sectors such as diamonds or manganese.

In 2010, Bosai Minerals Group, the world's largest calcined bauxite and brown fused alumina producer, purchased 80 percent of the shares of Ghana Bauxite Company from mining giant Rio Tinto for an amount of USD 30 million. The remaining 20 percent belongs to the Ghanaian government. Bosai Minerals plans to revive the bauxite mining industry of Ghana, starting first with the development of the Awaso bauxite mine in west Ghana. The Awaso mine sits over a deposit estimated to contain around 100 million tons of high alumina bauxite. Bosai Minerals wants to increase production from the Awaso mine to 1.5 million tons by 2011. These developments are expected to cost approximately USD 1.2 billion and include construction of an alumina refinery plant near the Awaso mine. Bosai Minerals estimates that the refinery will be complete in 2014.

Ghana's gold industry is relatively untouched by Chinese investors. Only Shaanxi Mining Company, a subsidiary of China Gold Resources Group Company, is directly involved in gold mining. Shaanxi Mining only supports two small-scale firms in the Talensi District in northeast Ghana. The company began production in 2013, but was involved in a controversy when three Ghanaian miners were killed by poisonous gas in a gold pit, allegedly purposefully by Shaanxi Mining. The public relations representative of the company, Maxwell Wooma, denied these allegations. This adds to tensions between the Ghanaian people and China which were already rising due to the excess of illegal Chinese gold miners in the country. The only other Chinese investor in terms of gold is Modern Gold Refinery who funded Ghana's first gold refinery, however, the company is not directly involved in gold mining. The refinery is expected to save gold exporters the cost of shipping gold outside of the country for refining and create around 25,000 jobs.

Analytic Confidence:
Analytic confidence is medium. Source reliability ranges from medium to high. There is no conflict between sources. The analyst had low expertise on the subject, did not use a structured analytic method, worked alone, and collaborated with a team. The subject is moderately complex and the deadline was moderately difficult to meet.


 * Analyst****:** Jared DeTal