VALCO targets local, global markets with new aluminium rolling mill

Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO) is expanding its role in Ghana’s aluminium value chain with a new continuous casting and rolling mill designed to produce higher value-added aluminium products for local and international markets.

The facility could reduce the need for local cable manufacturers to import aluminium rods used in the production of electrical cables while positioning VALCO to supply value-added aluminium products to overseas markets.

VALCO Finance Director, Sepenu Agbetsise, said the new product line has already supplied industrial test samples to two local downstream manufacturers, Nexans Kablemetal and Reroy Cables, with satisfactory feedback.

He made the disclosure during the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources’ mid-year performance review and training programme held at the Marriott Hotel in Accra.

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He said the development represents a shift from VALCO’s traditional focus on primary aluminium production towards the manufacture of intermediate and value-added products.

“Hitherto, these companies would have had to import the rod and process it into the various cables that power our homes. Now, VALCO is in a position to supply those directly,” Sepenu said.

Ghana’s aluminium industry remains heavily dependent on imported inputs. Although the country has bauxite resources and an operating aluminium smelter, VALCO still imports alumina because Ghana does not yet have a domestic alumina refinery.

The company has identified construction, automotive, packaging and other manufacturing industries as potential markets where locally produced aluminium products could replace imports.

The new rolling mill gives VALCO an opportunity to capture more value from each tonne of aluminium produced while providing domestic manufacturers with locally produced intermediate inputs.

VALCO is also testing its products in international markets. In June 2026, about 25 metric tonnes of H11 Electrical Conductor (EC) grade aluminium rods were shipped to Europe for testing, with results expected by the end of August.

Alumina refinery remains key

The development forms part of Ghana’s broader ambition to establish an integrated aluminium industry that goes beyond bauxite mining and primary aluminium production to include alumina refining and the manufacture of value-added products.

The Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) has a mandate covering the full aluminium value chain, from bauxite mining and alumina refining to aluminium smelting and value-added manufacturing.

However, the absence of a domestic alumina refinery remains a major challenge for VALCO.

The long lead time between ordering, paying for and receiving imported alumina ties up significant working capital in inventory in transit and exposes the company to additional financing and interest costs.

VALCO also incurs freight costs at both ends of its supply chain. The company pays to transport alumina into Ghana and then incurs another round of freight costs when the finished aluminium is exported.

A domestic alumina refinery could therefore reduce inbound logistics costs, shorten the supply chain, lower working-capital and financing requirements, and generate significant freight savings for VALCO.

Sepenu said local production of alumina would also reduce the need for the company to make advance payments and help lower its overall operating costs.

“If we have alumina just at our backyard, we don't have to pay ahead of time,” he said.

The issue remains central to Ghana’s plans to develop an integrated aluminium industry. The government is pursuing investors for the establishment of the country’s first alumina refinery, with the refinery expected to strengthen other parts of the aluminium value chain.

With the new rolling mill already receiving positive feedback from local cable manufacturers and undergoing testing for international markets, VALCO could increase the amount of value captured locally while helping reduce Ghana’s reliance on imported aluminium products.