Large Iron Ore Deposits Discovered in Eastern Ghana скачать в хорошем качестве

Large Iron Ore Deposits Discovered in Eastern Ghana

On Sunday, October 9, 2022, Minister of Oti Region, Joshua Makuba, announced the discovery of iron ore deposits in the Oti Region in eastern Ghana. Believing that the new find will transform the Ghanaian economy, Makuba remarked, “I want to advise people in Accra to start looking for land in the Oti Region because what is going to take Ghana from our current state to a very industrialized nation has been found in the Oti Region and that is the iron ore,” as covered by My Joy newspaper. Experts are still ascertaining the extent of the iron ore deposits. As reported by Ghana News Agency, 10 foreign and domestic mining companies are keen on opening mines in the region. No future mining company will have exclusive rights to the mines, instead, memorandums of understanding will be signed, whereby companies will be given a specified time to mine for the iron ore, as stated by Ghana News Agency. On Sunday, October 9, 2022, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa wrote in a column in the Sunday Mail that his government will begin to collect half the royalties from mining companies in refined metals this month. As specified in Reuters, the targeted metals are gold, diamonds, platinum-group metals, and lithium. Zimbabwe has always had vast deposits of mineral wealth but has been unable to convert it into economic prowess for the nation. According to Mnangagwa, the purpose of the new policy is to allow Zimbabwe to accumulate mineral reserves. As said by Times Live, the new strategy “will assist the government to build physical reserves of precious and strategic minerals and also enable the collection of cash revenue for day-to-day running of state affairs.” The exploitative nature and use of organic security teams by Chinese companies in Africa is taking its toll on local communities. Chinese firms seem to be an extension of the Chinese government and even resemble imperialist Western governments of the past by employing their own security teams and hiring Chinese workers. As stated in ANI newspaper, “according to some estimates, the rapid growth of Chinese operations has led to the deployment of about a million Chinese nationals with more than ten thousand Chinese companies in Africa. Only Chinese security companies are entrusted with the safety of these assets and nationals while securing the sea routes. While most Chinese companies provide traditional security services, many of them have acquired sophisticated capabilities of collecting intelligence and conducting surveillance against potential threats. Some of them are also even seen working closely with local institutions including the armed forces.”