Chamber of Mines rejects IEA claims linking IMF bailouts to Mining ownership
The Ghana Chamber of Mines has rejected claims by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) that Ghana’s repeated engagements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are connected to the ownership structure of the country’s mining sector.
According to the Chamber, there is no credible empirical evidence to support such claims, stressing that the mining industry has consistently played a stabilising role in Ghana’s economy through export earnings, tax payments and foreign exchange inflows.
The Chamber’s response follows recent calls by the IEA urging government not to approve the proposed lease extension for Gold Fields’ Tarkwa mine, arguing that Ghana is not benefiting sufficiently from its natural resources while foreign mining companies continue to dominate the industry.
Speaking at a press conference, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber, Ken Ashigbey, maintained that the mining sector has consistently supported Ghana’s economy, particularly during periods of fiscal and external pressures.
“There is no credible empirical basis for attributing Ghana’s repeated engagements with the International Monetary Fund to the operations or ownership structure of the mining sector,” he stated.
He explained that the mining industry has historically served as a major source of foreign exchange earnings, fiscal revenues and external sector stability, adding that mineral export revenues have played a critical role in supporting Ghana’s external account position during successive IMF-supported programmes.
Ing. Ashigbey disclosed that the mining sector contributed approximately GH₵19 billion in taxes to the Ghana Revenue Authority in 2025, representing nearly 23 percent of direct domestic tax collections.
He noted that a substantial portion of these revenues came from large-scale mining companies, despite accounting for less than half of Ghana’s total gold production.
According to him, the more significant fiscal challenge lies within the small-scale mining sector, which reportedly produced more than three million ounces of gold in 2025 — representing over half of national output — but contributed less than GH₵0.5 million in taxes.
The Chamber described the disparity as one of the biggest revenue leakages in Ghana’s economy and called for stronger regulation and formalisation of small-scale mining operations.
Ing. Ashigbey therefore urged government to prioritise the formalisation and systematic taxation of the small-scale mining sector as part of broader fiscal reforms aimed at improving domestic revenue mobilisation.
He further challenged the IEA to focus its advocacy on addressing revenue gaps in small-scale mining rather than attributing Ghana’s macroeconomic difficulties to foreign participation in the large-scale mining industry.
“This structural gap constitutes one of the most significant fiscal inefficiencies in the Ghanaian economy and represents a far more tractable and impactful revenue reform opportunity,” he said.
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