Ghana is planning to ban the export of unprocessed minerals by 2030 as half of efforts to strengthen home processing, improve income from its pure sources and speed up industrialisation.
President John Dramani Mahama disclosed this on Monday, October 19, 2026, whereas addressing the Mining in Motion Summit in Accra.
The proposed restrictions come lower than two months after Ghana, Africa’s largest gold producer, prohibited the export of unrefined gold doré bought beneath authorized artisanal and small-scale mining offtake preparations.
Mahama outlines 2030 mineral export ban
Mahama mentioned the federal government intends to transfer away from exporting uncooked mineral sources in direction of growing home industries succesful of processing them into higher-value merchandise.
- “I’ve set a clear goal that by 2030, raw minerals should no longer leave our shores,” Mahama mentioned.
- “Our bauxite, manganese, iron, lithium and other minerals must support processing and industrial development here at home.”
The coverage would have an effect on a number of minerals that contribute to Ghana’s mining trade, together with manganese, which is broadly utilized in metal manufacturing to enhance power and sturdiness, in addition to in batteries and different industrial purposes.
- Ghana is the world’s third-largest manganese exporter, accounting for about 10% of world mined provide, in accordance to the United States Geological Survey.
Mahama additional burdened that mining firms in search of entry to Ghana’s mineral deposits could be anticipated to spend money on home processing, with such obligations included into mineral agreements.
- “Investors must understand the processing obligations associated with access to our resources,” he mentioned.
Ghana expands mineral export restrictions
The proposed 2030 ban builds on Ghana’s earlier resolution to prohibit exports of unrefined artisanal gold doré bought by means of authorized offtake preparations, a restriction that took impact on September 1, 2026.
Under the directive issued by the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), licensed self-financing aggregators should make sure that gold bought by means of authorized offtakers is refined at designated services inside Ghana earlier than export.
- Ghana has additionally restricted exports of iron scrap and non-ferrous metals to retain extra uncooked supplies for home industrial use.
- However, Ghana just isn’t alone in pursuing these measures, as a number of different mineral-rich African international locations are introducing comparable restrictions to scale back their dependence on uncooked materials exports and encourage home processing.
- For occasion, Guinea is contemplating restrictions on bauxite exports, whereas Zimbabwe is transferring to prohibit exports of lithium focus.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has additionally imposed limits on cobalt exports to regulate provide, whereas Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali and Ivory Coast have both established gold refineries or introduced plans to develop them.
These initiatives mirror a broader shift throughout Africa in direction of growing home mineral worth chains, growing industrial output and capturing a larger share of the financial advantages generated from the continent’s pure sources.
Ghana introduces new mining royalty framework
Beyond export restrictions, Ghana is introducing further measures to improve the worth retained from its mineral sources, together with home gold purchases, native refining necessities and a revised royalty framework.
- On July 1, 2026, the federal government, by means of GoldBod, started buying 30% of the gold produced by large-scale mining firms beneath an settlement with the Ghana Chamber of Mines, changing a earlier framework that focused 20% of annual gold manufacturing.
- Beyond efforts to improve home gold purchases and develop native refining capability, Ghana can also be reviewing how a lot income the federal government earns from mineral extraction, significantly in periods of rising world commodity costs.
- As half of these reforms, the nation has launched a price-linked royalty framework that enables the federal government to acquire greater funds from mining firms when mineral costs improve.
Under the framework, gold producers pay royalties starting from 5% to 12%, with the highest rate making use of when worldwide gold costs attain roughly $4,500 per ounce.
