Mineral Royalty Receipts Rise 40% to GH₵2bn in Q1 2026
Ghana’s mineral royalty receipts rose sharply in the first quarter of 2026, with total inflows increasing to GH¢2.01 billion as strong gold prices, improved output and tighter compliance monitoring lifted revenue mobilisation from the mining sector.
The Minerals Income Investment Fund said royalties increased from GH¢1.43 billion in the first quarter of 2025 to GH¢2.01 billion in the corresponding period of 2026, representing a 40 per cent year-on-year rise. The actual collections also exceeded MIIF’s first-quarter forecast of GH¢1.57 billion by 28 per cent.
The performance signals a strong start to 2026 for Ghana’s mineral revenue base, following MIIF’s historic achievement of GH¢5.43 billion in mineral royalty receipts in 2025, the highest since the Fund’s establishment.
Large-scale gold mining remained the dominant source of royalty receipts, generating GH¢1.97 billion in the first quarter of 2026, compared with GH¢1.35 billion during the same period last year. This represented a 46 per cent year-on-year increase and exceeded the projected target of GH¢1.49 billion by 33 per cent.
The growth was largely driven by elevated gold prices and increased production, reinforcing gold’s central role in Ghana’s extractive sector and the broader public revenue framework.
The mid-tier gold mining segment also recorded strong growth, with royalty receipts rising from GH¢15.30 million in the first quarter of 2025 to GH¢25.78 million in 2026, a 69 per cent increase. MIIF said the segment outperformed its forecast by 53 per cent, supported by higher gold prices and improved compliance resulting from stronger royalty monitoring.
The quarry subsector posted modest gains, with granite royalties rising from GH¢2.95 million to GH¢3.26 million over the same period. Limestone royalties, however, declined slightly to GH¢1.77 million from GH¢1.86 million, reflecting lower production.
The manganese sector is expected to contribute about GH¢31 million in royalties for the first quarter of 2026, down from GH¢60.97 million in the same period of 2025. The projected shortfall was attributed to planned stripping activities to expose additional ore bodies, which temporarily affected production, as well as the appreciation of the Ghana cedi against the US dollar.
MIIF Chief Executive Officer Justina Nelson said the first-quarter performance had positioned the mining sector for another strong year, particularly if gold production and global commodity prices remain favourable.
She also said the revival of a multi-agency committee to strengthen the monitoring and collection of mineral royalties and other mining-related revenues would help improve compliance across the sector. According to her, the committee’s maiden meeting focused on restoring coordination among institutions responsible for tracking royalties, production declarations and compliance.
The strong first-quarter performance comes amid renewed debate over how Ghana can retain more value from its mineral wealth, not only through royalties but also through refining, state equity participation, local content and stronger oversight of production declarations.
For MIIF, the figures reinforce its broader mandate to maximise value from Ghana’s mineral income and ensure that the benefits of the country’s mineral wealth support long-term economic development.
The central policy challenge, however, remains whether Ghana can convert rising mineral royalty receipts into durable fiscal buffers, productive investment and intergenerational value rather than allowing another commodity price boom to pass through the economy without structural transformation.
