Producing member companies of the Ghana Chamber of Mines spent $4.387 billion of mineral revenue in Ghana through payments to manufacturers and suppliers of goods and services, taxes, and financing of social investment projects in 2020.
In essence, 85.7 per cent of producing member companies’ expenditure was retained in Ghana, President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Eric Asubonteng, said.
He added: “The Chamber and its producing member companies prioritize the sourcing of inputs from manufacturers and suppliers in Ghana. This is a direct way to retain minerals value in the country and to stimulate broad-based linkages across different sectors”.
In real terms, the gross value added by the mining and quarrying sub-sector to Ghana’s GDP declined to GH₵11.8 billion in 2020 from GH₵13.6 billion in 2019.
In percentage terms, the share of mining and quarrying in GDP reduced from 8.6 per cent to 7.5 per cent in 2020. At the end of 2020, the mining and quarrying sub-sector was the third and fifth largest economic activity in the industrial sector and the entire economy, respectively, the Chamber’s 2020 annual report indicated.
“As many of you are aware, in 2020 the price of gold shot up around the period when the COVID-19 infection was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation.
After that declaration, many investors sought to convert their assets into bullion and its related assets, which directly provided the needed momentum for a sustained rise in the price of gold”, Mr Asubonteng noted.
The increased demand for gold and other related assets also pushed the price upward to $2,067 per ounce on 6thAugust, 2020. The increases also went a long way to boost government revenue from gold production.
He assured: “As a Chamber, we will continue to stimulate local participation in the inputs market to create jobs and increase value to grow the economy”.
African Eye Report
