Ghana Sets Sights On Ending Raw Ore Exports

President John Dramani Mahama has unveiled an ambitious plan to transform Ghana’s mining sector from a raw material exporter into a homegrown industrial powerhouse.
Speaking at the maiden Mining Local Content Summit in Takoradi yesterday, he said the country must move beyond exporting raw minerals and invest in downstream processing, refining and local value creation.

“For over a century, mining has been the backbone of Ghana’s economy yet much of the high-value activity from processing and refining to advanced engineering, still takes place outside our borders. This must change,” the President said.
The summit, attended by industry leaders, government officials, and international partners, focused on strategies to boost local participation in the mining value chain.

President Mahama who was the special guest of honor at the summit outlined a six-pillar framework to achieve this transformation:
Transformational Partnerships: Encouraging mining companies to invest in local capacity, technology transfer, and equity participation rather than simple local procurement.

Downstream Processing: A bold target to eliminate raw ore exports within five years through the establishment of refineries, bullion infrastructure, and mineral-based industrial clusters.

Skills Development: Training a new generation of miners, technologists, and engineers in automation, robotics, data analytics, and renewable energy integration.
Technology-Driven Mining: Positioning Ghana as a hub for sustainable, digital, and environmentally responsible mining.

Indigenous Participation: Supporting Ghanaian companies to move from subcontracting to full ownership of world-class mining operations, highlighting the Black Volta Gold Project by Engineers and Planners Limited.

Community-Centred Mining: Strengthening development agreements, protecting community interests, formalizing artisanal mining, and restoring mined land and water bodies.

The President pointed to international examples, noting that countries like Botswana, Chile, and Indonesia have successfully leveraged strategic local content policies to retain value and foster domestic industrial growth.

“Smart, enforceable local content policies do not deter investment, they create sustainable competitiveness. Ghana must follow this path.”
President Mahama emphasised that the transformation required collective action and that his government cannot achieve this alone.

“To Ghanaian entrepreneurs, the bar is high, but the opportunity is unprecedented. To international investors, we offer stability and long-term partnerships, but we expect genuine collaboration that embeds capacity within our economy.”

Concluding his address, he said “If we get this right, our greatest export will not be raw gold, bauxite, manganese, or lithium. It will be Ghanaian talent, Ghanaian technology, Ghanaian enterprise and a resilient mining economy.”

The summit, organised by the Mineral Commission (MC), signals the beginning of a national push to align Ghana’s mineral wealth with industrialisation and long-term economic growth, positioning the country as a model for African mining transformation.

 

 

 

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