Ghana, the world’s quantity two cocoa producer, has seen gold exploration droop over the previous decade, limiting new initiatives and reducing output from huge miners.
Martin Ayisi, CEO of the Minerals Fee, stated three different new mines, together with a lithium undertaking, will come onstream by 2026 to spice up the West Africa nation’s minerals manufacturing and quicken a restoration from its worst financial disaster in a technology.
Ghana final commissioned a large-scale greenfield mine in 2013 when miner Newmont launched its Akyem website in southeastern Ghana.
Since then, “exploration took a nosedive”, Ayisi stated in an interview on Monday, however “we are going to now have commissioning galore”.
“First is Cardinal Namdini, which is a monster mine and it’ll produce a mean of 358,000 ounces per 12 months. Mid-year 2025, Newmont will fee one other monster mine – Ahafo North.”
He stated the 2 mines would add no less than 600,000 ounces of gold to Ghana’s annual output whereas bolstering financial development and creating tons of of jobs.
Ghana mined 4.03 million ounces of gold in 2023, pushed largely by elevated output from small-scale and artisanal miners.
Ayisi stated one other two new mines – a gold mine by Azumah Assets in northwestern Ghana alongside the border with Burkina Faso, and the nation’s first lithium undertaking, owned by Atlantic Lithium – will begin manufacturing in 2026.
Miners welcome Ghana’s secure fiscal regime, however say extreme prices and forms are a deterrent for funding.
Ayisi stated the Minerals Fee was working with the federal government to decrease the exploration tax.
“Ivory Coast is primary in the case of exploration spend as a result of they’ve made it simpler. We’re quantity 4, however we will be primary,” he stated.
Gold manufacturing hit 2.5 million ounces by July this 12 months, of which 42% got here from small-scale and artisanal miners as surging world gold costs boosted the sector.
(By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Modifying by Alessandra Prentice and Jan Harvey)