Information and communication technologies (ICTs) and ... - ITU

The mining industry of Ghana accounts for 1.5 per cent of the country's GDP and minerals make up 41 per
cent of total exports, of which gold contributes over 90 per cent of the total mineral exports 89 . Most of
Ghana’s exports are raw materials. Gold is the most valuable export and is predominantly used in jewellery
and the electronics industry.
Gold production is incredibly energy and labour intensive. Recently, rising crude oil prices and demands for
higher wages, have significantly increased global gold production costs 90 . For example, in South Africa
where there have been power supply shortages, labour disputes, and other issues, the average cash cost
rose to USD 869/ounce. Oil prices rose to USD 145 per barrel (159 litres) in July 2008 and although they
have reduced since, they were again approaching USD 100 as this report was being prepared in August 2011.
Fossil fuel, up to 5 000 times the weight of the gold yielded, is used to produce it.
Ghana produced 2.9 million ounces (82 tonnes) of gold in 2009 91 . It can be estimated that it could emit
approximately 82 thousand tonnes CO2 92 . The electronics industries worldwide will use approximately 14
per cent of all gold produced and so 1 442 tonnes of fossil fuel and 3 780 tonnes of CO2e are emitted in the
production of gold for the ICT industry in Ghana. This represents 0.016 per cent of the GHG emissions in
Ghana.
Suggested action: As far as is known, there are no standard publicly available inventories showing the
impact on energy and emissions (CO2e) of extracting and processing raw materials such as gold. The EPA
could consider taking a lead on establishing such tables, specifically for Ghana.
As more gold is extracted, the gold that remains is often harder to discover and mine; and could require
more energy per gram to remove and process. By recycling worn-out or obsolete goods such as mobile
phones, rare metals such as gold can be extracted and recycled. This maintains materials in circulation, and
reduces the demand for raw materials and the energy needed for extraction. Although the amount of gold
is small in each device, their enormous numbers translate into a lot of unrecovered gold 93 .
Given the importance to Ghana’s economy of the extraction and processing of gold for export, it may be
necessary to explore ways of making this industry less dependent on fossil fuels. There may also be an
economic benefit to Ghana in developing methods for recovering gold (and other materials) from e-waste,
which can then be re-exported. (See more below under Recycling). Whereas 5g of gold may be extracted
from 1t of ore, 400g of gold may be extracted from 1 t of mobile phones.
Suggested action: The EPA and the Ministry of Communications should check emerging legislation on
e-waste to maximise the recovery of gold and other rare metals for the electrical industry, and to ensure
the safe disposal of ICT equipment in line with the recommendations of the Basel Convention which are
designed to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between nations, and specifically to prevent
transfer of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries 94 . The categories of hazardous
wastes are listed in Annex I of the Convention. E-waste can also be covered if it is defined or considered
to be a hazardous waste under the laws of: the exporting country, the importing country, or any country
of transit.
Aluminium
Aluminium became a significant export from Ghana following the construction of the Akosombo hydroelectric
dam to supply the industry, and the creation of Lake Volta, the world's largest man-made lake. Lake
Volta was formed between the years of 1962 and 1966, and necessitated the relocation of about 80,000
people. There is a huge demand for aluminium worldwide as it has many uses, including high voltage
electrical transmission in place of copper, as it is the most cost-efficient power-line material 95 . Aluminium’s
other electrical applications include TV aerials, satellite dishes, CDs, DVDs, chassis, and instrument cases.
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