Diversify minerals to sustain economic growth--Sulemanu Koney

The acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Mr. Sulemanu Koney, has said the nation needs to diversifyits minerals portfolio base to provide sustainable foundation for economic growth. 

“Ghana has proven reserves of kaolin, limestone, salt, marble, iron ore and other sought-after minerals. Since Ghana has acquired democratic credentials unrivalled in the sub-region, it is important that the government pursues aggressive, deliberate and systematic policies to channel Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into such non-gold minerals.”

Speaking at a workshop for journalists in Accra, Mr. Koney explained that there is evidence that mono-mineral economies lag behind countries with multiple resources in terms of development.

“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. 

Gold, which accounts for over 95 percent of the country’s total mineral exports, has become susceptible to episodes of adjustments, in tandem with the cyclical behaviour of the price of gold.

Mr. Koney called for investment in the downstream minerals sector to abate the reliance on imported inputs in the production process. 

For instance, he said, the US$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. 

On the sustainability of the mining sector, he urged government to implement policies to grow and expand the mining industry to particularly prolong the life of mines.

“Government should adopt a sliding scale royalty regime based on the price of metals such that when prices reach a predetermined level a particular royalty rate kicks in.

“It is important that government adopts a life cycle and integrated approach to mining benefits. In that regard, the benefits of mining will be larger and amounts accruing to each stakeholder or beneficiary will increase in tandem,” he remarked.