IMANI Africa’s Honorary Vice President, Bright Simons, has exposed serious concerns regarding the Royal Ghana Gold Refinery, a project recently celebrated as a milestone in Ghana’s quest to add value to its mineral resources.
According to Simons, the Indian company Rosy Royal Minerals, which is purportedly a key investor in the refinery, lacks the financial capacity to fulfill this role, casting doubt on the entire venture’s credibility.
The Royal Ghana Gold Refinery, a joint venture between Rosy Royal Minerals and the Bank of Ghana, with the latter holding a 20% stake, is said to have the capacity to refine 400 kilograms of gold per day.
However, Simons has questioned whether Rosy Royal Minerals is truly the investor behind this project.
During an interview with JoyNews’ Kwaku Asante, Simons revealed alarming details about the company’s financial standing, which he argues disqualifies it from being a legitimate partner in such a significant national enterprise.
“The company that it says is coming to partner with the Bank of Ghana to do this refinery work does not have the capacity at all. They run some quarries in a few states in India. It is a pretty small company,” Simons disclosed. He pointed out that Rosy Royal Minerals is not even a gold mining company, let alone a gold refinery, and has been struggling financially for some time.
IMANI Africa’s investigations into the company’s financial health uncovered that Rosy Royal Minerals’ last audited financial statement showed a meagre $3,000 in revenue while recording $250,000 in losses.
“We examined the company’s books in great detail. The company has never made any investment overseas worth any amount to be interesting,” Simons stated.
This raises significant doubts about the claim that Rosy Royal Minerals could invest the $20 million or $25 million allegedly needed to establish and operate the refinery.
Simons further revealed that the actual technical work for the refinery is being carried out not by Rosy Royal Minerals but by a small consultancy in New York, Rare Tech.
“It turns out it is a small consultancy…in India based in New York called Rare Tech. This is basically a one-man shop, owned by Sandeep Chadha,” he said, highlighting that the company’s involvement in the project is minimal at best.
The discovery that Rosy Royal Minerals lacks the financial capacity and that a one-man consultancy is managing the technical aspects of the refinery raises serious concerns about the project’s legitimacy.
“This is beginning to look like a scandal now,” Simons warned, suggesting that the real motive behind the refinery might be to capture control of the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, rather than to genuinely add value to Ghana’s gold resources.
IMANI Africa’s findings indicate that Rosy Royal Minerals is not the investor it is claimed to be, raising questions about the true nature of the Royal Ghana Gold Refinery and the intentions behind its establishment.
Simons has called for greater scrutiny and transparency regarding the project to ensure that Ghana’s mineral wealth is not compromised by dubious partnerships and questionable business practices.
Find the full interview below.