Mr Kwaku Asomah Cheremeh, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, has asked investors to team up with the Government to exploit industrial minerals for national development.
He said Ghana was also endowed with iron ore and base metals, copper, zinc, nickel, chrome and lead, which could all be exploited with the best practices and technology in a sustainable manner, to translate into wealth for the well-being of all citizens.
Mr Asomah Cheremeh was speaking at the opening of the 10th West and Central Africa (WaCA) Mining Summit and Expo on the theme: “Energising for Growth and Profitability”, being organised by Magenta Global.
He urged the West and Central African governments to continuously implement mining-friendly policies to sustain achievements in the volumes of mineral production in the regions.
The interests of citizens and environmental responsibility, he said, must, therefore, be prioritised.
Many countries in the sub-region are major gold producers, with Ghana being the largest producer in Africa, having produced 4.9 million ounces in 2018.
Ghana, the Minister said, had initiated measures to improve the transparency of the rent and taxes regimes of the sector.
“This is coupled with the beneficiation and value addition of the minerals mined to promote the growth of the sector,” he said.
The government he said was thus pursuing a resource-based industrialisation and economic transformation through the broadening of the framework of the local content strategies, which would lead to a wider growth.
Mr Cheremeh said in line with this, the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Corporation and the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development were established to ensure value development along the entire supply chain of the bauxite and iron resources.
Mr Martin Ayisi, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the Minerals Commission of Ghana, speaking on the topic: “Investment Opportunities in Ghana’s Mining and Mineral Sector”, said players should consider providing mines support services to the industry because it held numerous potentials.
There are currently 236 companies registered with the Commission providing mines support services such as laboratory, contract mining, exploration services and equipment supply.
Mr Ayisi said by December, this year, the Commission would go paperless and launch all of its operations online to ease the means of doing businesses with clients for greater efficiency.
For her part, Madam Maggie Tan, the CEO of Magenta Global, said the mining sector, which employed a lot of people, required a lot of attention from stakeholders to realise its full potential and benefits.
