The Ghana Chamber of Mines has disputed claims by Sammy Gyamfi, CEO of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), that giant mining corporations remit lower than 20% of their mineral export revenues to Ghana.
In a press release reacting to remarks made at a ceremony marking the sale of the Daman Gold Mine’s first gold manufacturing to the Financial institution of Ghana by Goldbod, the Chamber mentioned the figures had been “grossly deceptive”.
Talking on the occasion, Mr Gyamfi contrasted the overseas alternate contribution of artisanal and small scale mining (ASM) with that of the large-scale mining sector.
“Nonetheless, in distinction, massive home mining corporations offered solely about 10 tonnes of gold out of the roughly 100 tonnes they produced in 2025, or solely about 10% of their manufacturing,” he mentioned.
“Should you add the bodily gold shares they promote to the nation by the Financial institution of Ghana to the overseas foreign money they repatriate, you solely get 20%.”
Gyamfi argued that whereas massive mining corporations produced practically $10 billion value of gold in 2025, Ghana held solely a fraction of the worth of the gold as a result of current agreements enable many multinational mining corporations to maintain a good portion of their export earnings overseas.
“And the agreements that they’ve with the Republic enable them in some circumstances to retain 100 per cent of the proceeds from the sale of gold outdoors of Ghana. In some circumstances, 80 per cent retention, 90 per cent retention. So there’s little or no that comes again into the economic system,” he mentioned.
Nonetheless, the Chamber of Mines mentioned the calculations utilized by the Goldbod CEO solely captured transactions made immediately with the Financial institution of Ghana and ignored massive inflows by business banks working within the nation.
“The statistics cited are derived solely from gold bars and overseas alternate offered on to the Financial institution of Ghana,” the chamber mentioned.
“This strategy captures just one channel of overseas alternate repatriation, eliminating important inflows by the business banking system.”
The chamber defined that mining corporations repatriate export proceeds by two acknowledged channels: direct gross sales of overseas foreign money and gold bars to the Financial institution of Ghana, and remittances by business banks domiciled in Ghana. The report argued that each channels should be thought of to precisely assess the mining sector’s overseas alternate contribution.
In accordance with the chamber, a good portion of export proceeds repatriated by business banks is used to fulfill native obligations, together with royalty funds to governments, utility invoice funds, gasoline purchases, worker salaries, funds to native suppliers, and company social investments in mining areas. A portion of the overseas foreign money introduced into the nation can also be transformed into the Ghanaian Cedi, which the Chamber of Commerce and Business claims helps overseas foreign money liquidity and alternate fee stability within the nation.
“Based mostly on business information, roughly 70 per cent of mineral export revenues from producing members of the Chamber are returned to Ghana by a mix of central financial institution and business banking channels,” the assertion mentioned.
The Chamber additional distinguished between “gross overseas alternate repatriation,” which is the whole quantity of overseas alternate returned to Ghana, and “internet overseas alternate retention,” which refers back to the steadiness remaining after an organization settles its overseas money owed. The report asserted that, in keeping with steadiness of funds accounting rules, gross repatriation is the suitable measure when assessing the contribution of the mining sector to Ghana’s overseas alternate place.
The assertion additionally referred to the Financial institution of Ghana’s earlier coverage that granted the central financial institution the precise of first refusal on overseas alternate on the market to business banks, arguing that the coverage itself acknowledged the significance of business banking channels in overseas alternate inflows.
The chamber referred to as for the publication of a “disaggregated and clear account” of the mineral sector’s overseas alternate flows by each central and business banks to enhance public understanding and coverage debate.
The disagreement highlights an ongoing debate over how a lot worth Ghana retains from its mineral assets, particularly at a time when the nation’s authorities is pushing for reforms aimed toward strengthening overseas alternate reserves and rising native income from gold manufacturing.
