News Guide Africa

Tag: National Mining Dialogue

  • Julius Debrah demands responsible mining as Ghana’s gold output soars

    Julius Debrah demands responsible mining as Ghana’s gold output soars

    By Adnan Adams Mohammed

     

    …At the National Mining Dialogue in Accra, Chief of Staff Dr. Julius Debrah outlined a bold vision for domestic industrialization, while the Ghana Gold Board introduced its “IPE” strategy to empower host communities…

     

    Chief of Staff, Hon. Dr. Julius Debrah, has issued a stern reminder to mining executives, traditional authorities, and policymakers: Ghana’s rise to become Africa’s leading gold producer and the sixth-largest globally must be viewed as a solemn duty to the nation, rather than a mere point of pride.

    Speaking at the National Mining Dialogue 2026 at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra, Dr. Debrah emphasized that global leadership in mining demands equal leadership in environmental protection, host-community development, and economic transformation.

    “Ghana’s position as the 6th largest gold-producing nation in the world places a huge responsibility on us,” Dr. Debrah declared. “It is a responsibility to mine responsibly, to safeguard our rivers and forest reserves, and to ensure that the wealth beneath our soil translates into tangible prosperity jobs for our youth, roads for our communities, and opportunities for generations yet unborn.”

     

    Transforming Gold into Domestic Industrial Strength

    Addressing state officials, foreign investors, and traditional leaders including His Royal Majesty the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II Dr. Debrah outlined the government’s commitment to reforming sector governance. He stressed that raw gold exports must give way to domestic refining, local manufacturing, and sustainable community development.

    “We will not preside over an industry that enriches a few while impoverishing the many,” Dr. Debrah stated. “The time has come for mining that respects our land, empowers our people, and expands our economy beyond the pit… Let us convert the gold in our ground into the factories, schools, and hospitals of tomorrow.”

     

    Dr. Debrah also urged a united civic effort to protect natural resources and hold operators accountable.

    “Our chiefs must guard the land. Our media must inform the people. Our civil society must hold us all to account. This is a national project,” he urged.

     

    GoldBod Unveils Strategy to Support Sector Reform

    Aligning with Dr. Debrah’s national mandate, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) delivered a keynote address on the event’s core theme, “Rethinking the Social Licence to Operate.”

    Highlighting recent trade data—which showed gold generating $20.2 billion (63.1%) of Ghana’s $32.0 billion total exports in 2025, with small-scale miners producing 52.4% of total output—the GoldBod chief noted that young people in mining districts must become direct beneficiaries of the sector.

    “A social license cannot survive where the youth believe mining has no place for them except as casual laborers… Mining communities must no longer be treated as land donors. They are custodians of the resource hence must be treated as development partners and economic shareholders,” the GoldBod CEO asserted.

     

    To turn this philosophy into practice, GoldBod detailed its operational IPE Framework:

    ● Involve: Giving host communities a formal stake in licensing decisions, increasing local royalty retention, mandating CSR contracts, and supporting indigenous mine ownership.

    ● Protect: Enforcing environmental laws, reclaiming degraded forests, formalizing small-scale operators, and rehabilitating critical water treatment facilities across affected regions.

    ● Expand: Boosting domestic refining, constructing the upcoming Ghana Gold Village for jewelry manufacturing, introducing an airport-based ISO National Assay Laboratory by late 2026, and launching a gold tokenization initiative in 2027 to democratize gold ownership for citizens.

    Key Targets and Sector Impact

    ● Formalized ASM Exports: Over 170 tonnes exported through formal channels since 2025, generating more than $17 billion in foreign exchange to stabilize the currency and bolster national reserves.

    ● Local Offtake Mandate: A shift to 30% local output acquisition from large-scale producers starting July 2026 to supply domestic refineries and pursue global LBMA certification.

    ● National Assay Laboratory: Groundbreaking scheduled for November 2026 at Accra Airport to install ISO-certified Fire Assay standard testing for all gold exports.

    ● Environmental Rehabilitation: Reclaiming 150 total hectares of degraded lands in the Tano Nimri Forest Reserve and funding the rehabilitation of 6 Ghana Water Limited treatment plants.

    The summit concluded with shared agreement between state leaders and industry players that long-term commercial success in Ghana’s gold fields will ultimately depend on local value creation, active youth participation, and environmental restoration.

     

  • Chief of Staff urges mining sector reforms to reflect Ghana’s mineral wealth in host communities

    Chief of Staff urges mining sector reforms to reflect Ghana’s mineral wealth in host communities

    Government has issued a firm call to stakeholders across the mining sector, declaring that historic mining communities like Obuasi must reflect the immense wealth extracted from their soil.

    Speaking at the National Mining Dialogue in Accra, Chief of Staff Dr. Julius Debrah, in a speech delivered on his behalf by Deputy Government Spokesperson Shamima Muslim, emphasized that as the world’s sixth-largest gold producer, Ghana bears a heavy responsibility to ensure its wealth is visible in local infrastructure and human development.

    “We have heard that Ghana is now the 6th largest gold-producing country in the entire world,” Dr. Debrah noted in his keynote address. “We may applaud, but that also brings us huge responsibility to look like the 6th largest gold-producing nation of the world. Government remains committed to lawful, responsible mining and enforcement; each matter must be handled fairly on evidence and through the proper institution.”

    The Chief of Staff’s remarks underscored a growing national consensus that decades of mineral extraction must no longer leave host towns lagging behind in basic infrastructure and industrial growth. Calling for a shift from unsafe practices to structured, transparent systems, Dr. Debrah reiterated that the public will ultimately judge the country’s mining sector by the tangible wealth retained domestically and the strength of national reserves.

    “Formalisation must not become a war against vulnerability and security,” he added. “From an opaque market to a fair market and from unsafe practices to responsible livelihoods, the artisanal miner should hear reforms and an invitation to operate safely, lawfully, and profitably.”

    Echoing the Chief of Staff’s charge, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, highlighted the stark reality of host communities like Obuasi, drawing a sharp contrast between long-standing local extraction and the actual transformation on the ground.

    “We cannot continue to mine gold from the soil of our communities while poverty, lack of access to potable water, poor roads, youth unemployment, and weak local capacity persist,” Gyamfi stated. “Ghana has mined gold commercially for more than a century, yet Obuasi can produce gold for generations and still not compare to Johannesburg in industrial depth, urban development, and economic opportunities. Extraction without intentional policy does not automatically produce transformation.”

    Gyamfi argued that host communities should be treated as active development partners and economic shareholders rather than mere land donors. Under the central framework of the Ghana Gold Board, government efforts aim to build value by strengthening local processing, refining, and supply chain logistics.

    As state agencies, mining operators, and local leaders assess the road ahead, the consensus remains clear: policy reforms under GoldBod and the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme must deliver visible, lasting progress to communities like Obuasi so that their infrastructure finally mirrors the gold beneath their soil.