Ghana is still holding on to its position as the biggest gold producer in Africa, according to the President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Michael Edem Akafia.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, he said Ghana continues to dominate the continent’s gold output while maintaining a solid presence on the global stage.
“In terms of performance, if you look at it on the global level, obviously, Ghana is still maintaining its place as the biggest gold producer in Africa and sits globally and all of that. So those are the positives you have going for it,” he said.
But Akafia stressed that the impressive headlines mask underlying concerns.
“If you unpack it and look behind those headlines, you find that there may be challenges and issues of concern for the industry.
“And we believe that Ghana should continue to position itself as a beacon for the mining industry generally, because we are known to be a relatively more mature mining, you know, industry.”
Citing production figures, he explained that Ghana recorded about 4.8 million ounces of gold last year.
He highlighted the role of small-scale mining in driving the surge.
“If you look at, if you’re just looking at some of the numbers, last year’s production, gold production was around 4.8 million ounces, and, you know, and that was a significant jump.
“But if you unpack that, you will see that small scale contributed. Small-scale production jumped from 1.1 million ounces in 2023 to 1.9 million ounces in 2024. The large-scale production stayed stagnant around 2.9 million ounces.”
He also noted that government’s planned overhaul of mining laws has created concerns within the industry, even as Ghana continues to strengthen its position as a global mining hub.