Ghana has earned an additional GH¢4 billion in mining royalties between January and September 2026, following the introduction of a revised royalty regime aimed at increasing the country’s share of revenue from gold production.
The additional revenue brings total mining royalty receipts to GH¢7.82 billion for the nine-month period, compared with an estimated GH¢3 billion that would have been realised under the previous royalty arrangement.
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, said the new regime was helping Ghana maximise revenue from its mineral resources while ensuring mining companies continued to enjoy reasonable returns on their investments.
Speaking on the policy, Mr Buah explained that the previous royalty system had remained largely unchanged for decades, limiting the country’s ability to benefit adequately from significant increases in international gold prices.
He said the previous arrangement operated on a relatively flat royalty structure despite gold prices rising considerably above the benchmarks used by mining companies in determining production costs and profitability.
According to him, the government consequently introduced a sliding-scale royalty regime to ensure that the state earned more when gold prices increased, while royalty payments also adjusted downward when prices declined.
Mr Buah said the new arrangement established a royalty range of five to 12 per cent, linking payments to prevailing gold prices rather than maintaining a fixed rate irrespective of market conditions.
“We engaged them. We said, let’s have a sliding scale. When gold prices [rise], we said we will give you a reasonable return on investment, then the state increases royalties and so we did a sliding scale from five to twelve percent. When gold prices come down, it comes down. When gold prices go up, it goes up,” he stated.
The minister said the decision had significantly improved Ghana’s earnings from mining royalties, citing figures reported by the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF).
He disclosed that the country received GH¢7.82 billion in royalties between January and September 2026, against an estimated GH¢3 billion under the previous regime.
“Guess what we [would] have received? Three billion. That decision has saved Ghana four billion Ghana cedis,” Mr Buah said.
He attributed the policy change to engagements with mining companies and the government’s determination to ensure that Ghana derived greater economic benefits from its gold resources.
Mr Buah also acknowledged President John Dramani Mahama’s support for the policy, saying presidential backing had been instrumental in implementing decisions aimed at improving the country’s mining revenue mobilisation.
The revised royalty regime forms part of broader efforts by the government to strengthen mineral revenue collection and ensure that the country’s natural resources contribute more substantially to national development.
Source: Newspyramid.com
