President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced intentions to prohibit the wholesale export of bauxite and iron ore from Ghana.
According to President Akufo-Addo, the move is aimed at protecting the country’s limited natural resources and learning from the gold exportation mistake.
Speaking at the commencement of a natural resource stakeholders dialogue in Accra, the President said the government will shortly launch laws to ban the mass exportation of bauxite and iron.
“We cannot forget lithium and the other green minerals which have been described as the minerals of the future due to the importance of the green energy transition. Fortunately, we have discovered lithium in commercial quantities in occurrence with cobalt, nickel, copper, lead, and zinc in the country.”
Akufo-Addo added that “We should not do with these minerals what we have done with our gold resources over the years. The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources under the leadership of Abu Jinapor is finalizing a policy document for the exploitation and utilization and management of these crucial minerals for the consideration of Cabinet in the next few years.”
“By section 28 of GIDEC law, in section 30 of the GIFTECH law, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources is empowered to make regulations to ensure that no bauxite or iron ore in their raw state is exported out of the country after five years of coming into force of these laws.”
Ghana accounts for 0.29% of global production, with the other top producers being Australia (28%), the Republic of Guinea (24%), China (18%), and Brazil (8%).
Bauxite exports from Ghana grew from 2021 to 2022 by 31% to 61kt. Ghana’s bauxite exports are anticipated to increase to 64kt by 2026, with a CAGR of 1% between 2022 and 2026.
