Mining industry in Ghana gets major boost with new SGS lab

The mining industry in Ghana and the West African Sub-region will soon receive a major boost following the establishment of a world-class Geochemical Laboratory at Tarkwa in the Western region of Ghana by SGS Ghana Limited.

The facility will complement the existing facilities available in the country by ensuring that clients receive full scale geochemical analytical services at the highest quality and promptness that is required.

The Client Liaison Manager of SGS Ghana at Tarkwa, Wilfred Appiah, who made the announcement at the just ended maiden edition of the Ghana Gold Expo held in Takoradi, said the facility is one of SGS Ghana's top-notch laboratories in the sub-region.

With a network of what some have described as super labs, clients in the mining industry can enjoy various standardized, validated methods and techniques using state of the art equipment that spurs growth and reaches desired targets timeously.

Players in the mining industry can also get enhanced services offered by sister labs for MMI (Mobile Metal Ion) analysis, multi-element analyses by ICP-AES, ICP-MS and XRF. SGS also invested in FAST technology (Field Analytical Services & Testing) using the pXRF, FTIR and ED-XRF scanning instruments for mineralogical sample analyses. Carbon and Sulphur analyses are offered from SGS Maslab in Tema, which is also fed from the new SGS environmental feeder, lab recently opened in the Cyanide area in Tarkwa.

Mr. Appiah noted that SGS Ghana is part of the global entity SGS, which is recognised as a global benchmark for quality and integrity and the world's leading inspections, verification, testing and certification company with offices worldwide including Accra, Tema, Tarkwa, Takoradi, Damang, Ahafo, Akyem and Obuasi.

SGS, which was established in 1878 in Europe, opened its Ghana operations in 1960 in Ghana and provide services in the following sectors; Oil, Gas and Chemicals, Agriculture, Food and Life, Certification and Business Enhancement, Environment, Health and Safety, Government and Institutions, Industrial and Minerals. The company has a network of 2,600 offices and laboratories and more than 94,000 employees around the world.

The Convenor of the Ghana Gold Expo, Dr. Steven Blessing Ackrah expressed excitement about the new facility, adding that, it was a good effort at ensuring responsible mining as the theme of the Expo indicates; "Promoting Responsible Gold Mining and Zero Mercury."

"Contributions to the facilities in Ghana, such as the Geochemical Laboratory in Tarkwa by SGS continue to place Ghana favourably for responsible gold mining in the region," he added.

He observed that the enthusiasm and overwhelming representation by stakeholders in the mining industry was a testament to the "strength of gold in the current market and the high level of interest in doing business in Ghana".

Gold price has hit $1667 as of March 11 and have shown strong recent gains amid stock market crises worldwide.

Henry Treku who is in charge of Strategy and Partnerships for Ghana Gold Expo also noted that the high level investors who attended the expo are in the right place at the right time if they were interested in producing gold responsibly and sustainably. "Ghana is good for such opportunities," he stressed.

He thanked SGS for sharing the news about the new laboratory and extending an invitation to key stakeholders to witness the world-class facility.

However, we have been informed that due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and the recent press release of 2 cases in Ghana, SGS was compelled to postpone the opening function, which was scheduled to be held on the 18th of March in Tarkwa.