The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has expressed optimism that Ghana will cement its position as the top producer of gold in Africa with the coming on board of three major gold producing mines in the country.
Ghana has reclaimed its position from South Africa as the top producer of gold in Africa, latest statistics from the Ghana Chamber of Mines confirmed.
According to the chamber, the country’s gold output increased from 2.8 million ounces in 2021 to 3.7 million ounces in 2022 due to concurrent growth in the output of both large and small-scale sectors.
The figure represents a 32% increase in production in the gold sub-sector. Ghana lost its position as Africa’s leading gold producer to South Africa as total production from large and small-scale producers declined from 4 million ounces in 2020 to 2.8 million.
Speaking in a media interview on Tuesday, Mr Jinapor said three major mining firms will soon come on board to help consolidate Ghana’s position.
“I also want to point out that, a couple of other large-scale mining operations are going to come on stream in the next two to three years – Cardinal Resources in the Upper East Region, Azumah Resources, in the Upper West Region and Newmont Ahafo North in the Ahafo Region,” Jinapor told Benjamin Offei-Addo.
“And when all of these come on board, Ghana will not only be number one gold producer for a long time in Accra, but we will become very competitive globally in terms of gold production,” Jinapor said.
