The Ghana Bauxite Company Ltd has signed a $250-million funding agreement with Ecobank Ghana to finance the company’s expansion drive and modernise its mine at Awaso in the Eastern Region.
The move is expected to strengthen production capacity and support Ghana’s ambition to process more of its bauxite locally.
Under the agreement, Ecobank Ghana will be the exclusive mandated arranger responsible for structuring the financing and coordinating the participation of prospective banks and other financial institutions, leveraging its structuring capabilities, pan-African network and access to local and international capital
Fact sheet
GBC is jointly owned by Ofori-Poku Company Limited (OPCL) with an 80 per cent controlling stake and the Government of Ghana, through the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC), with a 20 per cent stake.
Ecobank Ghana PLC is part of the Ecobank Group, a leading private pan-African banking group with unrivalled African expertise.
It is present in 34 sub-Saharan African countries, as well as France, the UK, the UAE and China markets.
The financial facilities, comprising a term loan and revolving credit facility, will support capital investment and working capital requirements associated with GBC’s plans to increase mining capacity, strengthen logistics infrastructure and enhance operational efficiency, building on recent production growth and preparing for the next phase of its operations.
The financing arrangement is intended to support the first phase of GBC’s mine and port expansion strategy, which forms part of a broader ambition to deepen the country's participation in the bauxite and aluminium value chain.
At a brief ceremony on the premises of GBC in Accra yesterday, officials of both companies signed documents to usher in the agreement.
The Executive Chairman of Ghana Bauxite, Isaac Ofori-Poku, signed for the company, while the Managing Director (MD) of Ecobank Ghana PLC, Abena Osei-Poku, signed for the bank.
Expansion drive
Mr Ofori-Poku explained that upon taking over GBC, the current management took steps to move the production levels of bauxite from 700,000 tonnes in 2022 to 2.7 million tonnes in 2025.
"And as of October this year, we have already done 2.6 million and projects to hit at least three million tonnes by the end of the year," he added.
The Executive Chairman of Ghana Bauxite Company said the company was in a bid to consolidate the gains and transform the country's aluminium value chain, hence the partnership with Ecobank for capital injection and expansion.
"The decision now is a quantum leap; the subsistence mentality is no more.
We want to make giant strides in terms of investment in logistics and equipment as we move to have a fully integrated aluminium industry in Ghana," he said.
Mr Ofori-Poku stressed that for GBC, the challenge going forward was no longer how to extract more bauxite but "how to mine, handle, transport, process and deliver significantly higher volumes of material reliably and at a globally competitive cost."
He said the transformation of Ghana Bauxite demonstrated the contribution Ghanaian businesses could make when national industrial ambitions were supported by investment, operational discipline and a long-term commitment to development.
Beyond increasing bauxite production and exports, the wider objective is to help establish the foundations for domestic processing.
Although the country mines bauxite at Awaso, it does not have an operating domestic alumina refinery.
The broader industrial development strategy of Ghana Bauxite seeks to address that gap through plans for an alumina refinery at Awaso.
“Our responsibility is to demonstrate that Ghanaian businesses can do more than participate in the extraction of our natural resources.
We can build and manage the industrial platforms required to transform those resources into lasting economic value,” Mr Ofori-Poku said.
The Executive Chairman of Ghana Bauxite Company added that the integrated aluminium industry was a national ambition whose realisation depended on projects that were technically credible, commercially viable and capable of being executed.
“At GBC, the focus is on translating this ambition into increased operating capacity, improved infrastructure and investment,” he stated.
Ecobank's commitment
Ms Osei-Poku said the transaction between the two sides demonstrated the role strong financial partnerships could play in advancing ambitious African enterprises.
“Transformative projects require more than capital; they require financial expertise, the ability to bring institutions and investors together, and partners who understand both the opportunity and the responsibility that come with delivering at scale.
“Africa’s ambitions must be matched by Africa’s capacity to mobilise capital and build partnerships that enable sustainable growth.
We value the confidence Ghana Bauxite Company has placed in Ecobank, and are committed to bringing the full strength of our institution and our network to this partnership," the MD of Ecobank said.
She said the mandate given by GBC reinforced Ecobank’s commitment to mobilising capital and connecting businesses to financing opportunities that supported productive capacity, trade and sustainable economic growth.
