The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has commented on Ghana’s regaining the top spot in the production of gold in Africa, attributing it to the revival of two mines and the expansion of the output of existing mines under the Akufo-Addo Administration.
In a statement on Monday, June 12, the Ministry stated that the country’s recent achievement in gold production is due to the policies and programs of the government in close cooperation with the Ghana Chamber of Mines.
“Following the active intervention of the President of the Republic, H. E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi mine, which was put under care and maintenance in 2016, was revived in 2019, and the Bibiani Mine, which had been dormant for seven (7) years, was also revived in October 2022”, the Ministry observed.
It further stated that “the revival of these two mines, the expansion of output of some existing mines, and the reduction of the withholding tax rate on unprocessed gold by small-scale miners, which was introduced in 2015, from three percent (3%) to one and a half percent (1.5%), have significantly contributed to Ghana’s new position on the continent.”
The Ministry projected a further increase in the production of gold over the next two years due to the presence of three new large-scale mining operations, namely, Cardinal Resources Namdini in the Upper East Region, Azumah Resources in the Upper West Region, and Newmont Ahafo North in the Ahafo Region.
At its recent Annual General Meeting, the Ghana Chamber of Mines announced that the country’s gold output for both small and large-scale miners increased from 2.82 ounces in 2021 to 3.74 ounces in 2022, overtaking South Africa as the number one gold producer for the year.
