Source: newsthemegh.com
Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor, MP, the minister for lands and natural resources, has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to enhancing the value of Ghana’s mineral resources, particularly the green minerals.
He declared that under no circumstances will Ghana export its lithium or other unprocessed green minerals.
At the Bloomberg New Economy Africa Conference, which took place in Marrakesh, Morocco, on June 13 and 14, 2023, the Minister announced this.
Leaders from the public and business sectors come together at the Conference to debate the most serious global challenges and assess potential solutions in light of regional and local priorities.
The conference this year focused on Africa’s green minerals.
The Minister stated that ensuring value addition is the best method to profit from these green minerals in light of the green energy transition during a panel discussion on creating value from the energy transition.
The over-concentration of the export of raw minerals, according to Mr. Jinapor, is one of the reasons why Africa has not benefitted from its several years of mining.
Therefore, we must actively work to shift from the export of raw materials to value addition in order to gain from the green minerals.
Green minerals such as lithium, graphite, Chrome, Zinc, Copper, Cobalt, and Nickel are abundant in Ghana. High-grade lithium in particular has been discovered in the Central Region.
Experts estimate that the worldwide lithium sector is currently worth roughly 11 billion US dollars. However, the highest end of the industry—battery production—is valued at 7 trillion US dollars.
But every step of the process, from mining to making batteries, requires a lot of capital. China is currently the only nation that retains the entire value from mining to battery production from beginning to end.
Even while the government is committed to making sure that as much as feasible, a sizable component of the value chain is preserved in Ghana, Mr. Jinapor stated that we may not be able to retain the entire value chain from mining to battery production in the nation at this time.
“We want to stop not giving our mineral resources any added value. In order for Ghana to significantly profit from the new paradigm of green energy, we are starting by developing the proper policy and legislative framework, the Minister stated.
He mentioned that the Cabinet is now debating a strategy for the extraction, management, and use of the nation’s green minerals.
He claimed that the policy’s main goal is to make sure that Ghana’s citizens profit from these resources through local engagement, value addition, and local content.
The Minister expressed confidence that the policy paving the path for the utilization of our lithium resources will shortly be approved by Cabinet.
Along with bauxite, manganese, and other eco-friendly minerals, lithium is the primary mineral utilized in the creation of lithium-ion batteries.
Despite years of bauxite and manganese mining, Ghana has not yet fully utilized its lithium resources.