Ghanaian logistics tycoon Daniel McKorley’s firm seeks $445 million for salt expansion

Key Points

• The company plans to secure funds through capital markets and private placements to expand salt production and build key infrastructure.
• Electrochem Ghana’s project will raise production capacity from one million to five million tonnes annually, adding jobs and strengthening Ghana’s economy.
• The company will construct a refinery, caustic soda plant, and port to support value-added processing and large-scale salt exports.

Electrochem Ghana Limited, a salt mining company owned by Ghanaian multimillionaire and logistics tycoon Daniel McKorley, is looking to raise $445 million through the capital market and private placements to expand its operations over the next two years.

Electrochem Ghana plans major salt expansion

The company, one of Africa’s top salt producers, plans to use the funds to complete engineering works on its multi-million-dollar project, automate infrastructure, and build key facilities, including pumps, pipelines, and a jetty at Ada West for bulk exports.

It will also construct a salt refinery and invest in a caustic soda plant, industrial parts production, new mining equipment, a research-focused university, and vessels for transportation.

Once completed, the expansion will increase Electrochem Ghana’s production capacity from one million tonnes to five million tonnes of salt per year. The project is also expected to create jobs, improve returns for investors, and strengthen Ghana’s economy.

Ghana’s salt industry eyes expansion

The funding plans were revealed during a recent visit by Justina Nelson, the acting CEO of Ghana’s state-owned Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), to the Ada Songhor salt works.

Electrochem Ghana operates the 41,000-acre concession through an infrastructure project funded by a mix of equity from MIIF and debt from Ecobank Ghana. MIIF has so far invested $30 million in the project.

Electrochem Ghana’s management disclosed that over $120 million has already been invested in the Ada Songhor salt project. The company now plans to move beyond raw salt production to value-added processing.

This includes building a refinery at a cost of $30 million to $40 million and setting up a caustic soda plant for $85 million. To handle increased production volumes, Electrochem Ghana intends to construct a port at an estimated cost of $100 million.

Electrochem Ghana expands Africa’s salt production

McKorley’s McDan Group of Companies, once primarily known for transportation and logistics across West Africa—including Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Equatorial Guinea—has grown into a major player in the salt industry through Electrochem Ghana. The company has breathed new life into the Ada Songhor salt concession after years of neglect.

Electrochem Ghana, operating under a 15-year lease, has already ramped up salt production to one million tonnes and aims to double that by 2025. Its newly commissioned $88-million salt washing plant processes industrial salt from a vast concession spanning 33 communities. With a purity level of 99.99 percent, the facility is now the largest of its kind in Africa, surpassing Namibia’s Walvis Bay.