By Stephen Asante
Accra, Feb. 27, GNA – Ghana has projected to ramp up gold production to some 4.5 million ounces annually, says President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The country’s ambition is buoyed by the current three large-scale mines under construction in the Ahafo, Upper-East and Upper-West Regions, with the mining firm, Cardinal Namdini, set to pour its first gold in the Upper-East in the last quarter of this year (2024).
Last year, the country regained its position as the leading producer of gold in Africa, having overtaken South Africa as its gold production reached an unprecedented four million ounces.
President Nana Akufo-Addo, in a State of the Nation Address, said the progressive policies the Government had been implementing, including the revival of dormant mines like the Obuasi and Bibiani Mines as well as the expansion of existing ones, had contributed to the country’s success story.
The reduction in withholding tax on unprocessed gold by small-scale miners, from three per cent to one-and-a-half per cent, had also resulted in some nine hundred per cent increment in gold export from the small-scale sector, over the last two years, he added.
The President said the expected outcomes of the progress in the gold sector aimed at advancing the economic growth of the country.
In spite of the abundance of mineral resources, Ghana has over the years not benefited immensely from the extractive sector, with the majority of mining communities, reeling under severe infrastructural deficits due to poor policies.
President Nana Akufo-Addo indicated that leveraging on these resources, the Government had introduced the innovative ‘Gold for Oil Policy,’ which accounted for some thirty per cent of the country’s total crude oil consumption.
To add value to the volumes of gold production, the country has constructed, through a public-private partnership, a 400-kilogramme capacity gold refinery.
The Government is also in the final stages of negotiations for a London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Certificate.
“For our green minerals, including lithium, we have put in place a policy for their exploitation and management, to ensure beneficiation across the value chain of these critical minerals,” the President noted.
GNA