‘Diversify Ghana’s minerals portfolio’
The acting Chief Executive of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Mr Sulemanu Koney, has called for the diversification of the country’s minerals portfolio.
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He said apart from insulating the country against external shocks in the event of a decline in the price of any metal, a diversified minerals sector would provide the sustainable basis for economic growth.
Mr Koney was speaking at a workshop for journalists in Accra yesterday.
Non-gold minerals
He said there was evidence that mono-mineral economies lagged behind countries with multiple resources in terms of development and added that Ghana had proven reserves of kaolin, limestone, salt, marble, iron ore and other sought-after minerals.
He stressed that since Ghana had acquired democratic credentials unrivalled in the subregion, it was important that the government pursued aggressive, deliberate and systematic policies to channel Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into such non-gold minerals.
“For over a century, Ghana, which is famous for its teeming and varied mineral deposits, has consigned itself to the commercial exploitation of four minerals; namely, gold, bauxite, diamond and manganese, ” Mr Koney said.
He pointed out that because gold accounted for over 95 per cent of the country’s total mineral exports, it had become susceptible to episodes of adjustments, in tandem with the cyclical behaviour of the price of gold.
A classic case, Mr Koney said, was the ongoing realignment of government’s expenditure and revenue, which the 2013 Budget and Economic Statement had partly ascribed to the softening of the price of gold.
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Imported inputs
Mr Koney also called for investment in the downstream minerals sector to abate the reliance on imported inputs in the production process.
For instance, he said, the $341 million used by the mining companies to import caustic soda from 2009 to 2013 could have been retained if the country had the capacity to meet the demand.
Turning the spotlight on laws in the mining sector, he implored the Executive and Legislative arms of government to work harmoniously to ensure that mineral rights were ratified as required by law.
He said failure to do so in good time did not bode well for the reputation of the country and gave the impression that the mining companies were operating illegally.