Government urged to review mining policies to attract investments into sector

Ghana needs to review its mining laws and policies to bring them to an acceptable global standard to favourably compete and attract the needed investments into the sector, Mining Engineer, Henry Antwi has said.

He said Ghana needed to learn from its neighbours who were continually enhancing their mining and mineral policies to derive the maximum benefits.

“Neighbouring countries like Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast have continually enhanced their mining policies and are amassing wealth from their mineral resources,” Mr Antwi stated.

According to him, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast had been doing that, adding that, those countries had taken Ghana’s mining policies and kept enhancing them to attract investors.

"Several students were studying in mining universities in Ghana to go back and develop their human resources," Mr Antwi, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, told a gathering at a public lecture in Kumasi.

The lecture, which was on the theme: “Harnessing the Transformative Power of Ghana’s Mineral wealth for human development and sustainable economic growth,” was organised by the College of Engineering of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

Mr Antwi pointed out that mining was the powerhouse that fueled the global economy, created jobs and impacted lives.

The Chamber of Mines in its 2022 Report showed that the contribution of mining to Ghana’s development was about 19 per cent aggregate domestic tax receipts.

In terms of exports, it was about $6.8 billion and minerals contributed about 39 per cent.

Mr Antwi said despite all the gains, the industry faced a lot of challenges including price volatility, declining ore grades and high exploration risks among others.

It was important for Ghana to develop robust infrastructure such as efficient energy, ports and railways and improve mineral charisma to increase transparency in the management of mineral resources.

The Mining Engineer explained that exploration was the driving force in mining.

He added that, for Ghana to explore minerals effectively and reap proportionate dividends, the Government must initiate tax credits to help companies attract investors “without having to bypass Ghana and go to Ivory Coast to explore minerals.”

Again, academia and the Ghana Geological Survey Authority should team up to compile an atlas of mineral sites as another way of attracting mining investors.

Mr Antwi called on Ghana to minimise the administrative bureaucracies in granting of mining licenses, which he believed had been politically influenced.