• Ghana has terminated Rocksure International’s lease for the Nyinahin bauxite deposit, Reuters reported on July 28.
• The $1.2B project with GIADEC aimed to build a mine and refinery; reasons for termination remain undisclosed.
• Authorities may bring in a foreign partner, with Emirates Global Aluminium among the firms under consideration.

Ghana’s Nyinahin bauxite deposit no longer has a designated operator after the lease held by Rocksure International, the local company developing the site, was terminated. Reuters confirmed the information Monday, July 28, citing three sources close to the matter. These sources added that local authorities are now considering bringing in a foreign partner to revive the project.

Rocksure had been selected in 2021 to develop Nyinahin as a joint venture with the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation, or GIADEC. The agreement involved a $1.2 billion investment to fund the construction of a mine and refinery at the site. Rocksure announced a resource estimate of 376 million tons of bauxite in 2023, but few details about the project's progress have emerged to date.

The reasons behind the termination of the agreement between GIADEC and Rocksure have not been disclosed. Neither party has made a public statement as of now. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that several companies are already under consideration to take over, including Emirates Global Aluminium. The latter had signed a memorandum of understanding with GIADEC last June regarding a potential collaboration in bauxite.

The Nyinahin project's development is part of a broader plan to build a fully integrated local aluminum industry in Ghana. This strategy particularly relies on increasing national bauxite production, which reached 1.7 million tons in 2024.

Aurel Sèdjro Houenou