The Ghana Chamber of Mines is disputing recent justifications for increasing the Growth and Sustainability Levy (GSL), saying that they misrepresent the mining industry’s contribution to the national economy.
Government recently raised the GSL from 1 percent to 3 percent in the 2025 budget, arguing that the country has yet to fully capture economic rent from its natural resources – particularly in the wake of rising global gold prices.
But the chamber contends that this narrative overlooks key facts. “Some reports suggest that extractive sector rents represent 14 percent of gross domestic product while extractive sector revenue accounts for approximately 1.5 percent of GDP.
“These statistics encompass the entire extractive sector. Mineral rent is a residual value, the excess revenue from mineral extraction after covering all costs including investor returns.”
It cannot exceed mineral revenue, nor can its GDP ratio surpass that of mineral revenue, the chamber maintains. According to the chamber, mineral revenue from its member companies contributed about 8 percent of Ghana’s GDP in 2024.
On the other hand, mineral rents are not captured solely by investors but are shared among stakeholders including government, local communities and mining companies.
“These figures show that mining companies already contribute significantly under the existing fiscal regime,” the chamber says.
While gold prices have surged in recent years, the chamber warned that not all mining firms have benefitted equally. Variations in operational costs and investment levels mean some companies have not seen meaningful profit increases.
Equally, concerns have been raised by the chamber that the revised GSL places an uneven burden on the sector. For instance, producers of other minerals like manganese and bauxite – which have not enjoyed gold’s price boom – will also be affected by the higher levy.
Despite its objections, the chamber said it remains open to dialogue and is committed to working with the Ministries of Lands and Natural Resources and Finance to ease the impact on struggling companies while supporting broader government revenue goals.
To enhance transparency and accountability in mineral revenue management, the chamber has been advocating a legislative framework similar to the Petroleum Revenue Management Act for the mining sector.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has signalled government’s intention to overhaul the existing mining policy regime as part of efforts to reset the country’s regulatory and economic direction.
Speaking during a working visit to the Minerals Commission in Accra, one of the key agencies under his ministry, the minister described the current policy framework as outdated – pointing out that it has not seen a thorough review since 2014.
Mr. Buah made it clear that sweeping changes are necessary and urgent. Ghana remains Africa’s top gold producer and is gaining ground in the critical minerals space; however, the mining sector is faced by environmental degradation with rivers polluted and forests stripped bare, much of it tied to illegal mining activities across mining regions of the country.
Disturbingly, companies operating with licences from the Minerals Commission have also been implicated in irresponsible practices.
The minister pointed to the current system of issuing prospecting licences as one of the major culprits behind widespread land degradation. Vast stretches of land are disturbed in the name of prospecting, only to realise there’s nothing commercially viable.
As a remedy, he proposes a more focused approach. Under this new direction, only the Ghana Geological Survey Department – working closely with the Minerals Commission – will be authorised to carry out prospecting. Once potential deposits are confirmed, those areas can then be offered to interested companies for development.
Also, the top-down approach to issuing licences, he insisted, must change to ensure the mining sector is well organised while guaranteeing sustainable and responsible practices.
The Minerals Commission CEO noted that gold alone contributed about US$11.5billion to the country’s receipts last year.
Of the amount, small-scale mining contributed US$4.6billion (40 percent) with the remainder, US$6.9billion (60 percent) coming from the large scale sector, according to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
The mining sector contribution (gold) alone constitutes 56.3 percent of total receipts recorded by the country. This demonstrates the mining sector’s sensitivity and importance of the Minerals Commission’s work.
