Country in focus
D
espite several challenges over the
last century, Ghana has remained
one of the top gold producers
in the world. It is the second largest
producer of gold in Africa (after South
Africa), and is known as a stable and
attractive mining jurisdiction.
exploration newcomers. Being the darling
of gold investors in West Africa for many
years, the pressure on Ghana is mounting
to not only retain existing investors,
but to attract new ones. This means the
government will have to minimise what
global companies might perceive as risk
factors, which will require immaculate
discipline, exemplary governance, political
stability and regulatory certainty.
Other West African countries like Côte
d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Mali, and even a
country like Senegal, are fast becoming the
mining countries of choice, especially for It’s something a country like South Africa
has been grappling with over the last 10
years. There, regulatory uncertainly and
political interference have resulted in many
projects being put on ice, or potential
investors getting cold feet. Politically and
economically, Ghana has been predictable,
and as a result, it has attracted some of the
big-name companies in global mining.
Today, Ghana has 14 large-scale operating
mines, comprising 12 gold mines, a bauxite
project and a manganese mine called the
Ghana Manganese Company, that has been
operating in Ghana for at least 60 years.
Notwithstanding its many successes, and
its world class geological endowment, the
country has not yet diversified away from
gold and has failed to exploit its basket
of other available minerals to the fullest.
While its gold mines are becoming deeper
and more difficult to mine, the presence of
iron ore, bauxite, manganese and lithium
offer equally attractive opportunities.
Gold, however, is still the mainstay, and
various expansion and life extension projects
are keeping the sector alive. The question
is whether the handful of greenfields
exploration programmes currently underway
are enough to ensure that the Ghanaian gold
mining sector maintains its current status for
the next 50 years.
A number of mining companies have established themselves in Ghana. One of them, Golden Star,
has consistently produced good ounces.
Although the government has been tempted
to tamper with existing regulations in the
past, it has, up to now, resisted the extreme
resource nationalisation model as propounded
by many other African countries. There
are, however, constant reminders that
mining companies need to toe the line. The
relationship between the mining fraternity
and President Nana Akufo-Addo has been
cordial nevertheless, and a win by Akufo-
Addo’s New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2020
will be good for continuity. However, the race
might be closer than predicted.
The political climate
In February this year, former president
of Ghana, John Mahama, was confirmed
as the winner of the opposition National
Democratic Congress’s (NDC) primary
elections. According to risk management
company Signal Risk, it is now almost
certain that Mahama will face off against
incumbent Ghanaian head of state Nana
Akufo-Addo in the next election.
Big mining companies have created employment for a significant number of local Ghanaians.
www.africanmining.co.za
Electoral success, however, will not be an
easy task for Mahama. “Mahama will need
to reverse the one million vote deficit that
separated the two in the 2016 poll,” Signal
Risk states in a report. “In addition to the
power of incumbency afforded to Akufo-
Addo, Mahama will also have to challenge
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