The 12th West African Mining and Power Conference and Exhibition (WAMPOC/WAMPEX 2016) has ended with participants generally highlighting the need to adopt new mining technologies.

This was identified as critical in improving operational efficiency for mining firms to stay in business especially in the wake of challenging global economic environment.    

WAMPOC 2016 was under the theme ‘Sustaining Mining and Power Investments: Meeting stakeholder expectations in a challenging global environment’.

This year’s edition of a biennial event held at the Accra International Conference Centre between June 1-3. The 3-day event was climaxed with the Annual General Meeting of the Ghana Chamber of Mines.

Day 1                                                                                                                                                

The Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh opened the conference emphasizing government’s commitment to continuously engage stakeholders in the mining industry to the benefit of the economy. He noted government is working to improve the business environment by developing infrastructure and also making it possible for investors who may want to acquire mining rights to do so online among others.

The Chairman for the occasion, Kwame Addo-Kufuor, who is the President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines and Regional Chief Financial Officer, Newmont Africa earlier welcomed the about 200 delegates outlining the prevailing challenges of the mining sector albeit the rising prices of gold which presents a glimmer of hope to the industry.

The Guest Speaker was the Principal of Africa Power Systems Management Inc. Kweku Awotwi who is also Former CEO of the Volta River Authority. He described the power sector as financially insolvent – invariably affecting mining companies that rely heavily on power for their operations. He emphasized the need for government to provide transparency on the rules and processes governing new investments in the power sector.

“Such transparency will be vital as the mining community attempts to navigate the challenges of receiving an adequate supply of electricity to successfully run its operations in the short, medium and long-term,” he said.

Day one of the event was climaxed with discussion sessions on “Strategy for a sustainable future” and “Local Content in the Extractive Sector” alongside the exhibition of mining products and services.

Day 2

Stakeholders focused extensively on reliability and sustainability of power supply for the mining sector as well as n Women in Mining through discussions in special sessions. It featured presentations from operators across the value chain of the power sector – that is the Volta River Authority (VRA), the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA). Also was the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Minerals Commission. 

Participants’ Experience

Both delegates and exhibitors were enthused about the networking opportunities the event provided them.  About 60 companies in both the mining and power sectors showcased their range of state-of-the-art technology in line with the theme of the event.

Exhibitors offered patrons special packages by way of discounts and promotions. Those who spoke with JOY BUSINESS expressed their excitement about the sales and marketing opportunities the event afforded them.

Managing Director of Nezo Oil-field Supplies Ltd Stephen Owulaku said “We partner with foreign companies like Hi-Force hydraulic tools from the UK and the Dymac Solvent paint from Australia”

The biennial twin-event is organized by Events and Projects International in association with the Ghana Chamber of Mines. Rosaline Nutsugah expressed satisfaction with the event.

“It has gone very well. It’s just that the number of exhibitors was just about a third of what we had two years ago. But we believe it only reinforces the downturn in the global mining industry – which also made WAMPOC/WAMPEX 2016 even more timely” she said

Partners and sponsors of WAMPOC 2016 include Ecobank, Newmont Africa, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Teledata ICT, Bidvest Protea Coin, Tata and Awake Water (Kasapreko).