President John Dramani Mahama is calling for a bold shift in Ghana’s mining sector—from simply digging and exporting raw minerals to processing and adding real value right here at home.
“We must move beyond extraction to transformation. Refining our gold, producing jewellery, converting lithium into battery components, and processing bauxite into alumina and aluminium is the path to a resilient and diversified economy,” the President said on Monday, June 2, while addressing the Global Mining Summit in Kumasi.
According to him, Ghana’s mineral wealth should not just enrich foreign markets. Instead, the country must become a powerhouse in refining and manufacturing to truly benefit from its natural resources.
This vision comes at a time when the Mahama administration is rolling out policies to strengthen local industry capacity and reduce Ghana’s overreliance on exporting raw materials.
He stressed that transforming the country’s approach to minerals like gold, bauxite, and lithium is key to building a stronger economy.
In a related development, the President took a moment to spotlight the early performance of the Ghana GoldBoard (Goldbod), the newly revamped institution formerly known as the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC).
“Mr. Sammy Gyamfi is the Chief Executive of the Ghana Goldbod, and he is already doing wonders,” Mahama said, clearly impressed with how the new CEO has hit the ground running.
The Ghana GoldBoard was officially launched on April 2, 2025, with a mandate to streamline gold trading, boost transparency, and promote local value addition in the industry.
