Africa’s top gold-producing nation is once again Ghana

The largest producer on the continent at the time was South Africa, which had surpassed the West African nation in 2021.

Following a loss to South Africa in 2021, Ghana has reclaimed its position as Africa’s top gold producer. In 2022, the domestic gold production in the West African nation increased by 32%, from 2.8 million ounces in 2021 to 3.7 million ounces, propelling it to the top of the continent’s gold production rankings.

The Ghana Chamber of Mines (GCM) stated that the increase is the result of both new output and increased production at already-existing large-scale mines.

The president of GCM, Joshua Mortoti, noted at the chamber’s annual general meeting on Friday in Accra that “the large-scale gold sub-sector recorded its highest output in the country’s history in 2022.”

The production in the large-scale sector, according to him, increased from 2.7 million ounces in 2021 to 3.1 million ounces in 2022, demonstrating an impressive growth of 13% – the highest ever recorded. The rest of the production, he continued, was in the small-scale industry.

According to Mortoti, businesses associated with the mines chamber have sold more than 77,620 ounces of gold through the Bank of Ghana’s scheme known as the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, which was put in place to increase reserves.

According to the GCM, the increase in export revenue also contributed to the minerals sector maintaining its position as Ghana’s largest source of foreign exchange in 2022. According to local media, which used statistics from the Bank of Ghana, mineral export revenue surpassed crude oil, cocoa, and inbound remittances in 2022.

By year’s end, the GCM anticipates the output of gold from its producing members to be 3.2 million ounces. “A widespread increase in output is expected to be the primary driver of this projected growth in production. Between 3.3 and 3.5 million ounces of gold are anticipated to be produced nationwide in 2023, according to the GCM president.

The chamber, however, expressed concern over an increase in attacks on mining installations across the nation and urged law enforcement to address these security issues as the nation works to become Africa’s mining hub.