As part of government’s agenda to industrialise and create jobs by maximising revenue from the country’s natural resource basket, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has disclosed that Ghana will soon build the full value chain of its green minerals.
The objective is also to help retain the value of the minerals as well as provide benefits to the citizenry. He explained that green minerals are minerals and metals needed to support the transition to clean-energy technologies aimed at reducing carbon emissions and reaching net zero.
“They include minerals like copper, lithium, cobalt, bauxite, graphite, manganese and nickel. With global focus on tackling climate change and its negative impacts on lives and livelihood, there has been a concerted effort to move away from fossil fuels, used to power vehicles, to electric cars which will run on batteries and be more friendly to the environment,” he said.
The Minister made the disclosure during the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan Cote D’Ivoire, dubbed “Green Minerals: How to Fully Seize on a Historic Opportunity”.
Value chain
He estimated that by the year 2040, over 65 percent of vehicles that would be sold across the world would be electric vehicles, and the world would need close to5, 000GWh of lithium-ion battery per year to power these vehicles.
“With Ghana holding some commercial quantities of lithium, one of the main minerals needed for the green transition, Government will concentrate on building the full value chain of these minerals here in Ghana, to ensure that the Ghanaian people benefit from these resources,” the Minister stated.
Mr Jinapor noted that the real value of these minerals lie in their value addition and not the raw minerals.
According to him, government is building the mining sector of the country on three main pillars. These are certainty in the industry anchored on the rule of law to boost investor confidence, value addition from mining to downstream production and a robust local content and local participation.
Gov’t commitment
The Minister said this policy underpins the establishment of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) and the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation (GIISDEC), which have been tasked to promote and develop integrated aluminium and iron and steel industries in the country.
“Just as Government is doing for these industries, Government will ensure that the full value chain of lithium, as well as other green minerals, is retained in Ghana,” he reiterated.
He also reaffirmed government’s commitment to local content and local participation in the mining industry, including these emerging minerals. He added that the surest way of ensuring that the mining industry has linkages to the other sectors of the economy is through value addition and local content.
“Ghana, with her democratic principles, good and accountable governance, respect for the rule of law and human rights as well as the sanctity of contracts, is the number one destination for investment on the continent. Government is committed to providing a conducive environment for businesses thrive for the benefit of investors and the people of Ghana,” he emphasised.
The Africa CEO Forum is an annual gathering of decision-makers from the largest African companies, international investors, multinational executives, Heads of State, Ministers, and representatives of the main financial institutions operating on the continent.
