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Catherine Kuupol Kuutor, a trailblazer in Ghana’s mining industry
Catherine Kuupol Kuutor
Catherine Kuupol Kuutor was on May 1, 2024, appointed General Manager of Gold Fields Ghana’s Tarkwa Mine with a huge responsibility to manage all mining areas.
Her recent appointment has received massive plaudits from a lot of women who hailed her as one of the exceptional and hardworking female leaders in the mining industry.
Catherine Kuupol, has been described as a trailblazer in the mining industry driven by a determination to overcome challenges and reach new heights.
Her professional achievements are truly remarkable. Prior to her recent appointment, she made history as Gold Fields West Africa’s first female Metallurgical Manager overseeing operations at both the Tarkwa and Damang sites.
Catherine’s journey exemplifies the transformative impact of hard work, resilience, and unwavering dedication. She has inspired numerous individuals, especially women, to pursue careers in mining and engineering.
Notably, she sponsors two annual academic awards for Outstanding Achievements in Mineral Engineering at the University of Mines and Technology (UmaT), one for the Best Student Overall and another specifically for the Best Female Student. The awards has since motivated young people to excel in school and progress to securing careers in mines and engineering.
She has been a great role model for the youth especially female students within Tarkwa and beyond.
With a strong background in metallurgy, Catherine has devoted her career to unlocking the treasures in rocks while advocating for opportunities and representation of women in mining.
Her academic journey begun with a Diploma in Mineral Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) School of Mines in 2002.
Building on this, she pursued a Master’s degree programme in Mineral Engineering from UMaT, Tarkwa; graduating in 2011. Currently pursuing her Ph.D. at UMaT, Catherine continues to deepen her expertise and understanding in the field.
Her illustrious career began at Golden Star Wassa Mine in 2004, starting as a laboratory metallurgist before progressing through various roles such as Shift Supervisor, Senior Plant Shift Supervisor, and International Cyanide Management Code coordinator.
In 2013, she moved to Abosso Gold Fields Limited – Damang Gold Mine as Plant Technical Superintendent, ascending to Unit Manager in 2015 and assuming leadership as Head of the Metallurgy Department and acted as General Manager at the Tarkwa Mine. She led several business improvement processes that contributed to increasing gold recovery at the Damang plant.
Throughout her professional journey, Catherine has shown unwavering dedication to her profession and colleagues, spearheading business enhancement initiatives leading to notable improvements in gold recovery processes.
Catherine also leads a team of dedicated professionals working towards making huge transformation within Goldfields as their contribution to economic growth.
Her exceptional contributions have gained widespread recognition including awards from the Ghana Chamber of Mines, recognition from Gold Fields Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and being honoured as Female Mining Professional of the Year during the sixth GMIA Awards ceremony in 2020.
Through her tireless efforts, Catherine is actively shaping a brighter future for women in the mining industry, leaving a lasting legacy. Catherine has been described as the ‘woman for the people’ as she makes time to socialise and provide a listening ear to anyone she works with, even on a personal level.
Catherine has set the pace for other women to follow as her rise has since become a motivation to her colleagues and women across industries.
By Michael D. Abayateye
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
