Domestic gold production could reach 5.1 million ounces by the end of 2025 – driven by new output from Newmont’s Ahafo North mine and Shandong Gold’s Namdini project, Michael Edem Akafia, President-Ghana Chamber of Mines, has said.
Output of other key minerals is also projected to rise. Manganese production is expected to reach 8 million tonnes, bauxite 2 million tonnes and diamond output 400,000 carats, Akafia said in an outlook presentation on the sector.
However, he cautioned that anticipated declines in production from Perseus Mining’s Edikan operation, Gold Fields’ Damang and Tarkwa mines and Zijin Mining’s Akyem mine could temper overall growth.
Regarding the small-scale gold sector, he noted that production outlook “remains uncertain, due to government’s ongoing reorganisation of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) into the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod)”.
If current trends persist, he predicted that output could range between 1.5 million ounces and 2 million ounces in 2025.
The mineral production outlook builds on a strong performance in 2024 when Ghana’s gold production climbed 19.3 percent year-on-year to a record 4.8 million ounces, up from 4 million ounces in 2023. Chamber members accounted for 59.4 percent of national gold output, with mineral revenues rising 19.8 percent to US$7.1billion.
In contrast, the second highest producer of gold, South Africa, recorded a decline in output of 5.9 percent to 90 tonnes in 2024 from 95.6 tonnes the previous year – continuing its long-term production decline.
Akafia, who was speaking at the Chamber’s 97th annual general meeting (AGM) in Accra, also added that the mining sector contributed some GH₵17.7billion in fiscal payments to government last year.
This represents a 51.3 percent increase from the GH₵11.7billion recorded the previous year. Notably, dividends paid to the state surged by over 600 percent to GH₵1.03billion.
This growth translated into a rise in the mining sector’s share of direct domestic taxes from 22.7 percent in 2023 to 24.3 percent in 2024.
Its contribution to domestic revenue, he observed, “also increased from 8.8 percent to 9.6 percent, while its share of total government revenue rose from 8.6 percent to 9.5 percent over the same period”.
It also emerged that mineral royalties paid by the mining sector increased from GH₵2.8billion in 2023 to GH₵4.9billion in 2024.
The 76.7 percent growth in royalty payments closely reflected the expansion in mineral revenue, as royalties are assessed on gross mineral sales. Thus, the share of royalties in the sector’s total fiscal contributions rose from 23.7 percent in 2023 to 27.7 percent in 2024.
Meanwhile, mineral export earnings rose by 52.7 percent to US$11.9billion from US$7.8billion in 2023 – representing 58.4 percent of total merchandise exports, with gold exports alone earning US$11.6billion.
The robust performance helped improve the balance of payments, supporting a reserve position of 2.9 months of import cover and aiding exchange rate stability.
“This impressive performance reinforced the mineral sector’s position as the dominant source of foreign exchange, with its share of total merchandise export earnings rising from 47.0 percent in 2023 to 58.4 percent in 2024,” Mr. Akafia stated.
According to the Chamber, producing member companies repatriated 70.8 percent of mineral earnings in 2024, returning US$4.99billion to the country. This included over US$906million surrendered to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and US$749.7million under the Foreign Exchange Purchase Programme.
Breaking down the expenditure of revenue by member companies of the chamber, Mr. Akafia noted that they spent US$5.5billion (73.7 percent of their revenue) within the economy.
Of this, US$2.9billion went into local procurement, US$1.4billion in taxes and over US$600million in employee emoluments. US$28million was dedicated to community development.
“In 2024, the expenditure of producing member companies that accrued to offshore entities includes capital expenditure (capex) of US$972.8million, imports of consumables worth US$240.7million, an amortisation value of US$111.3million and transfer of US$660.1million to non-government shareholders.”
The 97th AGM, which came off at the end of the 2025 West African Mining and Power Exhibition (WAMPEX), was held under the theme ‘The mining and power hub: driving sustainable investment opportunities in West Africa’.
The Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Chamber, Ahmed Nantogmah, also speaking at the AGM, announced plans to propose a Minerals Revenue Management bill to parliament.
This will expectedly be similar to the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) that pertains to the oil and gas sector, to improve transparency and guide the use of mineral royalties.
He said the Chamber is willing and available to support and provide information that helps government pass this law.
On his part, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah called on all stakeholders to support government’s efforts to combat illegal mining.
He attributed part of the surge in illegal mining to cumbersome licensing process, which he said is being addressed with a decentralised licencing system.
