Chamber of Mines CEO Dispels Foreign Control of Gold; Says 70% of Ghana’s Gold Owned, Mined and Sold by Ghanaians
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Ing. Ken Ashigbey, has challenged the narrative that foreigners are carting away Ghana’s gold, insisting that the bulk of gold produced, owned and traded in the country is now firmly in Ghanaian hands.
Speaking at the Strategic Policy Session on De-risking Ghana’s Gold Trade, organised by the World Bank and the Economic Governance Platform (EGP), Ing. Ashigbey disclosed that more than 70% of foreign exchange proceeds from gold exports were repatriated into the domestic market in 2024.
“In terms of the repatriation of the guarantees, if you look at 2024, over 70% of forex came back into the market,” he said, noting that official figures for 2025 are yet to be finalised.
He explained that the growing dominance of the small-scale mining sector has significantly altered the ownership structure of Ghana’s gold industry. Small-scale miners now account for over half of national gold production, with Bank of Ghana data indicating that they produced about 51% of total output in 2025.
“When you add the 50% from small-scale mining and the additional 20% that comes through other domestic channels, about 70% of our gold is in our hands,” Ing. Ashigbey stated. “So the conversation that foreigners are coming to take our gold is really not factual.”
Growing Ghanaian Ownership in Large-Scale Mining
Beyond small-scale mining, Ing. Ashigbey pointed to increasing Ghanaian participation in the large-scale segment of the industry, citing companies such as Adamus Resources, which he described as wholly Ghanaian-owned, as well as Azumah Resources’ entry into greenfield mining.
He also noted significant Ghanaian equity participation in established mines such as Asante Gold Corporation’s operations at Bibiani and Chirano.
“Majority of the gold in Ghana today is owned by Ghanaians, mined by Ghanaians, and sold by Ghanaians,” he said.
Revenue Gap in Small-Scale Mining
Despite the production gains, Ing. Ashigbey expressed concern about the limited fiscal returns from the small-scale mining sector.
He referenced data showing that while large-scale mining companies generated about GH¢17.7 billion in government revenue in 2024, small-scale miners—who produced an estimated 34% of gold that year—contributed far less in fiscal terms. In 2025, he said, small-scale miners may have contributed less than 2% to government revenues, despite producing over half of national output.
“This is where the real challenge lies—how much value are we extracting from small-scale gold,” he said.
He further cautioned that proposed amendments to the royalty regime, including a sliding scale of between 5% and 12%, could disproportionately burden small-scale miners if applied uniformly.
“If a small-scale miner is required to pay royalties of up to 12% at today’s prices, it could hurt the system,” he warned, while stressing the need for fairness and non-discrimination in the application of mining laws.
Governance Failures in Community Mining
Ing. Ashigbey was particularly critical of governance arrangements under the community and cooperative mining framework, arguing that weak ownership structures have allowed political interference and organised criminal activity to thrive.
“If you don’t deal with who the owners of cooperative mining are, you will not solve the problem,” he said, adding that discretion in the hands of political actors has consistently been abused.
He advocated replacing cooperative structures with companies limited by shares, with clearly identifiable beneficial owners who can be held accountable for environmental damage and regulatory breaches.
“For me, these entities should be registered as companies limited by shares, so when things go wrong, you know exactly who to hold responsible,” he said.
Call for Structured, Responsible Mining Framework
Ing. Ashigbey revealed that the Ghana Chamber of Mines is proposing an industry-wide framework to support responsible community mining, involving traditional authorities, local landholders, farmers, district assemblies and licensed mining professionals.
He stressed that responsible mining is capital-intensive and cannot be sustained with minimal public funding, calling on GoldBod and development partners such as the World Bank to support mine design, prospecting, reclamation and environmental management.
According to him, structured community mining would help cut off organised criminal networks that currently provide financing and capture as much as 85% of the benefits, leaving local miners with only a fraction of the returns.
Environmental and Security Risks
He also raised alarm over the increasing use of cyanide and in-situ leaching by illegal miners, warning of severe public health and environmental risks.
“There was a community that would have been wiped out,” he said, recounting a near-disaster where elevated cyanide levels were detected in a borehole, only avoided because the pump was faulty at the time of testing.
Ing. Ashigbey underscored the importance of traceability and responsible sourcing, welcoming the entry of the Rand Refinery and calling for stricter enforcement powers for GoldBod to seize and destroy illegally sourced gold.
He concluded by urging collective national ownership of the fight against illegal and irresponsible mining.
“This is not about politics,” he said. “We need to be deliberate about ownership, accountability and empowering communities, so that responsible mining continues regardless of which political party is in power.”
