Managing Director of the Precious Mineral Marketing Company, Nana Akwesi Awuah was the top gold exporter in Africa in 2018, despite a government-imposed ban on small-scale mining that year.
In June 2017, the Ghanaian government imposed a six-month ban on small-scale mining to combat illegal mining practices that were damaging the environment, particularly water bodies and forest reserves.
However, Mr. Awuah noted that, Ghana still got the top spot in gold exports in Africa in 2018.
He attributed this success to the significant contribution of large-scale miners, as well as the 40% share from small-scale miners who continued operations even after the ban was introduced.
Also, Mr. Awuah said the lack of export taxes on gold facilitated the export of gold from neighbouring countries through Ghanaian airlines, contributing to the country’s top ranking.
Mr Awuah shared these insights on Adom FM’s Burning Issues with Akua Boakye Yiadom.
“Despite the mining ban, Ghana became the leading exporter of gold in Africa in 2018. While 60% of the gold came from large-scale mining, the remaining percentage was sourced from small-scale operations that continued even after the ban was enforced.”
“Several factors contributed to this success, including the absence of export taxes on gold, which led to gold from neighbouring countries being routed through Ghanaian airlines to Dubai. This daily export activity played a significant role in our ranking” he noted.
Mr Awuah added that, the ban intended to curb illegal mining or ‘galamsey,’ did not achieve the desired results.
“The primary goal of the 2017 ban was to address the galamsey issue, but it did not produce the anticipated outcomes” he added.
