The President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says gold production has reached an unprecedented four million ounces (4 million oz), according to preliminary reports which caused Ghana to regain her position as the leading producer of gold in Africa, having overtaken South Africa.
He made this statement when he delivered the penultimate State of the Nation Address (SONA) on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, 27th February, 2024.
This, he reiterated, is as a result of the progressive policies implementation, which have led to the revival of dormant mines like the Obuasi and Bibiani Mines, and the expansion of
existing ones.
The President noted that, the reduction in withholding tax on unprocessed gold by
small scale miners, from three percent (3%) to one and a half percent
(1.5%), has resulted in some nine hundred percent (900%) increment in
gold export from the small-scale sector, over the last two (2) years.
“Leveraging on these resources, we introduced the innovative Gold for Oil Policy, which accounts for some thirty percent (30%) of our total crude
oil consumption”.
H.E Nana Addo Dankwa acclaimed that currently, three (3) large scale mines are under construction in Ahafo, Upper East and Upper West Regions, with Cardinal Namdini set to pour its first gold in the Upper East Region in the last quarter of this year, 2024.
“With these new mines, our gold production is expected to increase to some four point five million ounces (4.5 million oz) annually”, he added.
The President emphasised that to add value to these volumes of production, government has constructed, through a public private partnership, a four hundred kilogramme (400kg) capacity gold refinery, and is in the final stages of negotiations for a London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Certificate.
Touching on Ghana’s green minerals, including lithium, he said government has put in place a policy for their exploitation and management, to ensure beneficiation across the value chain of these critical minerals.
His Excellency further stated that, as it has been widely reported, Newmont Corporation, the world’s largest gold producing company, which operates two huge mines in the country, and is constructing a third, has announced its intention to sell its Akyem Mine in the Eastern Region, the third largest mine in the country, which produced some four hundred and twenty thousand (420,000) ounces of gold in 2022.
The President continued, that as part of Government’s policy to indigenize the mining sector, government will engage with Newmont to give priority to Ghanaian investors who will want to acquire the mine, to ensure that mineral resources better benefit the Ghanaian people.
He intimated that to spur Ghana’s industrialisation, the State is implementing the Four Project Agenda of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC), with Projects 1 and 2 having, already, taken off, and last month, Ghana signed an agreement for the implementation of Project.
Government he noted is also, in the concluding phase of discussions for the establishment of a four hundred and fifty million US dollar (US$450 million) refinery to refine the manganese the country produces.
Speaking on the Forestry sector, he said, government will continue to work to ensure the protection of Ghana’s forest and wildlife resources, while reclaiming degraded forests.
“Some forty-two million (42 million) trees have been planted over the last three years,
under the Green Ghana Project, and some six hundred and ninety thousand hectares (690,000 ha) of degraded forest have been cultivated between 2017 and 2022, under the Ghana Forest Plantation Strategy”.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Kwabena Nyarko Abronoma
