Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor has hinted that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) was working under the general oversight of the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to purchase gold locally to shore up local reserves.
He contended that Ghana must refine a significant proportion of its gold which makes the need to establish a robust and viable domestic refinery industry even more imperative.
He said plans were far advanced to invoke Government’s peremptory right under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) to ensure that a specified quantity of minerals produced in Ghana were refined here in the country.
Speaking at this year’s Ghana Gold Expo Mining Week, he said while developing the value chain of these minerals, we are also keen on developing our industrial minerals like salt and granite, which can easily be integrated into the domestic economy.
According to him, the exposure to external shocks associated with our traditional minerals means that we cannot continue to depend solely on such minerals and must therefore diversify production to ensure sustainability.
Mr Jinapor lauded the organizers of the Ghana Gold Expo initiative introduced to showcase the region’s mineral resources potential, promote the country’s mining sector to the international community, and build strong partnerships to develop our mineral resources for the sustainable development of our nation.
“The Western Region hosts significant proportions of Ghana’s mineral resources. It is therefore not surprising that such great initiative will emanate from here. Undoubtedly, the best comes from the West”, he emphasized.
He expressed the hope that discussions at this Ghana Gold Expo in addition to exposing investors to the potential resources that could be tapped will also help promote and build consensus around government policies in the gold mining sector to ensure a win-win situation for all stakeholders.
“If we work together, we can build the greatest mining industry in this country for the benefit of the Ghanaian people and investors. It is time to roll up our sleeves to work, engage each other in the spirit of candour and move forward in confidence. I am optimistic in our abilities. Let’s get to work”, he stated.
He divulged that the sector contributes significantly to the country’s economic development in terms of revenue generation, foreign direct investment and job creation among others, however, we have not reaped the full benefits of these resources due to our continuous exportation of unrefined minerals.
He remorsed, “while the industry contributes significantly to our economy, after centuries of producing gold, we cannot continue to export raw gold. We need a paradigm shift and the time to do so is now.”
He stated that developing the value chain of our mining industry will put us on a stronger path to reap the full benefits from the mining sector and called for the support of all industry players, including the Government, mining companies and the mine support service providers, to work together in an open, frank and transparent manner.
