Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa)
30 May 2011
The Ministry of Mines (MoM) signed an agreement with Ambo Gnemer Agro & Integrated Industries for the exploration and extraction of gold and raw materials for a cement factory with an investment of 15.7 million Br on Thursday, May 26, 2011.
The agreement was signed between Sinkinesh Ejigu, minister of Mines (MoM), and Zewdie Zeleke, chairman of the board of Ambo Gnemer.
Ambo Gnemer, which was established with 90 shareholders and a registered capital of two billion Birr in August 2010, is involved in various projects. These include Ambo Mines Development Enterprise, Ambo Cement Enterprise, Ambo Gnemer Sugar Factory, Ambo Gnemer Agricultural & Fruits Development Enterprise, and Ambo Integrated Animal Development Enterprise.
The 128,000ht area where the exploration and mineral extraction is to take place is located in Guder, Gendeberet, and Guduru weredas of East Shoa and West Wolega zones in Oromia Regional State, the country’s top gold producing region.
“The area we are exploring was previously used only for agricultural development,” Zewdie told Fortune. “We have since found the land has proven deposits containing of 24 carats gold. We hope to make the 3,000 people engaged in traditional mining in the area shareholders of our company to enable them to mine gold using modern methods.”
Ambo Mines plans to extract extensive deposits of gold and marble in the Gnemer Valley as well as gemstones in the Ambo Area.
The area is located in one of the three significant western green store belts which comprise the Tulu-Kapi, Ankore, Dul, Oda-Godere, Gizen-Mengi, Beles-Dendir, and Sirkole areas, according to MoM. The most promising deposits have been found in Tulu-Kapi and Ankore, according to the ministry.
Excluding the agreement with Ambo Gnemer, 181 exploration licences have been issued to 90 companies to date, according to Sinkinesh. The sector is paying particular attention to construction minerals, metallic minerals, and traditional mining to contribute to fast economic growth since it is believed that the sector is set to become the backbone of the government’s GTP, the minster explained.
Gold is Ethiopia’s third largest export commodity after coffee and oil seeds.
In 2009/10, gold worth 281 million dollars was exported, according to research conducted by Access Capital Services (ACS).
The government plans to increase its gold exports from 3,907kg in last year to 8,700kg by the end of the five years of the GTP.
The government also plans to import 150,000 tonnes of cement this fiscal year, the same amount it imported in 2009/10. In the same year, the country produced three million tonnes of cement, a number it plans to increase to 27 million tonnes by the end of the GTP.
“We are planning to float a tender for a feasibility study of extracting raw materials for cement,” Zewdie told Fortune.
Ambo Cement Enterprise plans to erect a cement plant with a production capacity of 90,000ql five kilometres outside of Ambo City, which is located 120km northwest of Addis Abeba, the company stated. The company plans to extract raw materials 25km from Ambo City where it has found proven deposits of pumice, clay soil, limestone, and gypsum which are needed as raw materials for cement production, it claimed.
Gypsum is one of the main raw materials used in the manufacturing of construction materials such as cement, plaster, and plaster board.
Extensive and thick gypsum deposits are believed to be present in the Abay Formation of central Ethiopia (Blue Nile Area) with some thinner deposits in Mekelle and in the Ogaden Basin, according to MoM.
Ambo Gnemer also plans to set up a sugarcane plantation on 30,000ht of the land, it claimed.
Ambo Gnemer Sugar Factory is finalising preparations for the construction of a sugarcane processing factory that could crush up to 150,000ql of sugarcane, produce electricity needed for the factory’s production, and produce ethanol, cattle feed, alcohol, as well as paper, according to the company.
The country produced 314,500tn of sugar in the 2009/10 fiscal year. The government plans to increase this number to 2.3 million tonnes over the next four years. While it imported 130 million tonnes of sugar last year, it plans to import only 80 million tonnes this year and be able to export 1.2 million tonnes of sugar by the end of the GTP.
By ELIAS GEBRESELASSIE
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
AllAfrica – All the Time