Ghana loses its position as the top gold producer in Africa after output fell nearly 30 per cent in 2021.
The volume of Gold declined to 2.818 million ounces in 2021 from 4.022 million ounces in 2020, the lowest level of output since 2008.
Mr Joshua Mortoti, the President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, said the drop in production followed concurrent reductions in the output of large and small-scale Gold producers.
The large-scale sub-sector’s contribution to national gold production fell to 2.720 million ounces in 2021 compared with 2.847 million ounces in 2020.
Mr Mortoti said the decline in the sub-sector’s contribution was due to a broad fall in output in most of the large mines.
On the other hand, the output of the sole producer of bauxite, Ghana Bauxite Company, dropped from 1.162 million tonnes in 2020 to 0.839 million tonnes in 2021.
The cutback in production was largely an outcome of the uncertainty regarding the renewal of the lease of the operator of that mine, Bosai Minerals Group.
