By Iddi Yire, GNA
Accra, July 15, GNA – Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, has announced that the Minerals and Mining Policy of 2014 have been revised and approved by Cabinet this year.
“This Policy seeks to indigenise mining by strengthening local content and participation through domestic value addition to minerals, improve linkages to the manufacturing industry and deal decisively with the menace of illegal mining and protection of the environment,” he said.
The Minister made the announcement in his address on Wednesday, during the Government Accountability Series Press Conference held at the Presidency.
He said following stakeholder consultations, the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), which had been operational for 20 years, was also reviewed and endorsed by Cabinet for onward transmission to Parliament for approval.
He said the revised Bill provided an updated, coherent and forward-looking legal regime to ensure that mining contributed immensely to national development.
Mr Buah said the new Act introduced district mining committees as a starting point for mineral licensing, medium scale mining as a new category, removed reconnaissance and prospecting licenses and replaced it with Exploration fixed at a maximum of five years.
He said the mining lease period was now fixed at 20 years maximum and that they had introduced community development agreement as part of any mining lease.
The Minister said the Mining Sub-sector recorded significant achievements aimed at strengthening regulation, enhancing value addition, improving safety, and combating illegal mining.
He said a major legislative milestone was the passage of the Minerals and Mining (Royalties) Regulations (2025), L.I 2517 which established a sliding-scale royalty payment, presenting a strategically adaptive framework for both the Republic as the resource owner, and mining companies, as contractors and investors.
He said this regime ensured that the government captured significant revenue during periods of rising commodity prices or production booms, while conversely alleviating financial strain on companies during downturns by reducing rates, to prevent negative cash flow, encouraging continuous operations to guarantee job security.
Ultimately, this self-adjusting mechanism offered greater predictability to investors than a rigid fixed rate vulnerable to low-price cycles, he said.
“Our vision for Local Content is to ensure that Ghana’s mineral wealth creates lasting prosperity for Ghanaians. We are committed to building a mining industry where our people are not merely participants, but owners, investors, innovators, and manufacturers,” the Minister said.
He noted that through deliberate policies, the Government was promoting Ghanaian ownership, value addition, technology transfer, local enterprise development, and sustainable job creation so that the full benefits of the nation’s natural resources remained within their economy.
He said this vision informed the launch of the maiden Mining Local Content Summit in Takoradi in February this year by President John Dramani Mahama.
Mr Buah said the summit brought together key stakeholders and reinforced the resolve to move beyond the export of raw minerals, towards value addition and industrialisation.
He said the government remained steadfast in protecting genuine Ghanaian participation and would not condone fronting or any arrangement that undermined the spirit and objectives of the nation’s Local Content agenda.
GNA
Edited by Christabel Addo