Newmont Ghana has created a total of 41,000 jobs since the commencement of the mining firm’s operations in the West African country.
According to the company’s study, Newmont directly employed 2,229 people while the presence of the Ahafo mine supported another 39,000 jobs in the country resulting in the total of 41,000 jobs.
The study, conducted by the Steward Redqueen, a leading consulting firm supported by PAB Consult, a Ghanaian consulting firm on behalf of the mining giant added that 9,000 jobs out of the 41,000 jobs created were in the Asutifi district where the Ahafo Mine is located.
It entitled-‘ The National and Regional Socio-Economic Impact of Newmont Ghana’s Ahafo Mine’, conducted from March 2012 to April 2013 traced the ripple effects of the Ahafo Mine’s 2011 spending in Ghana and Brong-Ahafo Region.
The study revealed that Newmont Ghana’s Ahafo Mine through linkages with other sectors of the Ghanaian economy supported value added, in terms of household income, profits & savings and tax payments, of $360 million besides the full-time employment it creates.
The report which released findings of its second socio-economic impact assessment of the Ahafo Mine in the Brong Ahafo Region acknowledged that that the Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation (NADeF) amplifies this economic effect with another 23% in terms of value added.
In 2011, Newmont Ghana expended more than $412 million in the Ghanaian economy; resulting in $360 million of value added to the Ghanaian economy, half of which was in the form of government income, according to the report.
It stated: “Newmont paid $160 million in taxes while suppliers paid an additional $18 million, representing a five-fold increase in tax payments since 2009.
Of the Ahafo Mine’s $412 million spending in Ghana, $182 million was spent on procurement of products and services in Ghana. Total spending in the Brong-Ahafo Region was $33 million of which $18 million was spent on suppliers.”
The report does not include the impact of the Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation, the company supports with one dollar for every ounce of gold mined and one per cent of pre-tax profits. The Fund has so far accrued about $23 million and has been used for several sustainable development programmes in the 10 host communities of the Ahafo mine.
Commenting on the study, the Regional Senior Vice President, Newmont Africa, Johan Ferreira, said “the study reinforces the fact that the Ahafo mine is a significant contributor to the Ghanaian economy. With the coming on board of our Akyem Mine, we hope to create more opportunities that will continue to benefit the national and local economies over the longer term.”
African Eye News.com
