Let’s process our mineral resources locally - Mireku Duker urges

The Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, George Mireku Duker, has underscored the need for the country’s mineral resources to be processed locally in order to retain more value in the economy.

“By focusing on refining and adding value to our minerals before exporting, we can retain a larger share of the economic benefits and reduce our reliance on raw mineral exports,” he said.

Speaking at the second Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) stakeholder conference last Tuesday, the Deputy Minister emphasised that local content policies must be enforced to ensure that Ghanaian businesses and entrepreneurs played a central role in the mining sector.

The event, which “Minerals Value Addition and Value Chain Development – Essential Tools for Ghana’s Development,” provided a crucial platform for discussions on enhancing Ghana’s mining sector through value addition, governance, and sustainable practices.

Mr Duker encouraged MIIF to explore value addition opportunities across the mining sector, urging the Fund to work with the private sector and the Ghana Geological Survey Authority to establish a mineral exploration fund.

“Our aim is to set up downstream industries in mining catchment areas, creating jobs and enhancing local economies. MIIF must continue its role as a catalyst in supporting local entrepreneurship,” he added.

Opening the conference, the Chief Executive Officer of MIIF, Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, indicated that the Fund was creation of the statute (Act 978) in 2018 with a three-pronged mandate.

He said the mandate of MIIF was to receive and manage mineral royalties on behalf of the government, manage the equity interest of the state in all large-scale mines in which the State has a carried interest and invest the royalties on behalf of the people in a transparent, beneficial, accountable, and sustainable way.

He also explained that the Fund’s mandate was underpinned by the vision to make mining the first pillar of the Ghanaian economy by investing in value addition for every single mineral type.

Mr Koranteng further stated that since its inception in 2018, MIIF had grown its assets from $180 million to over $1 billion, and mentioned some of MIIF’s key investment initiatives, including a $60 million investment into Ghana’s burgeoning lithium and salt industries.

The Senior Partner at AB & David, David Ofosu-Dorte, who spoke on the importance of leveraging Africa’s mineral resources in value-added global supply chains, said, “Africa has always been rich in resources, but we must be intentional in adding value and taking our rightful place in the global supply chain. The Africa Mining Vision and Agenda 2063 provide a framework for achieving this through regional cooperation and innovation.”

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