The Ghana Chamber of Mines has refuted assertions made by the CEO of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) that no more than 20% of Ghana’s overall mineral export earnings are repatriated by large-scale mining corporations, calling the amount “materially misleading.”
In a statement released on Saturday, May 2, 2026, the Chamber responded to the allegation by stating that the commonly reported figure only includes foreign currency and bullion gold sold directly to the Bank of Ghana.
The chamber claims that significant export earnings that were repatriated through Ghanaian commercial banks were not taken into consideration in the claim.
The statement stated, “The Chamber respectfully submits that this figure is materially misleading.”
The chamber further stated that the methodology utilised to arrive at the 20% number greatly understates the contribution of Ghana’s large-scale mining sector to its foreign exchange reserves and only accounts for one channel of foreign exchange repatriation.
The Ghana Chamber of Mines further clarified that mining firms repatriate export earnings via two recognised channels: transfers via commercial banks based in Ghana and direct sales of foreign currency and bullion gold to the BoG.
It maintained that both channels must be taken into consideration in any reliable evaluation of the mining industry’s foreign exchange contribution.
The Chamber pointed out that large-scale mining companies keep foreign exchange accounts with regional commercial banks, where export earnings are utilised to pay for important domestic commitments, such as royalties to the Ghanaian government, fuel and electricity payments, and other in-country contractual obligations.
In order to fund staff salaries, payments to regional suppliers, governmental organisations, and corporate social investment initiatives in mining communities, a portion of the repatriated cash is also converted into Ghana cedis.
The Chamber stated that about 70% of the mineral export earnings from large-scale mining businesses are repatriated to Ghana via a combination of commercial banking and the central bank, based on industry statistics from its producing members.
The Chamber emphasised that the relevant benchmark for calculating the sector’s contribution is gross forex repatriation, not just currency sold directly to the central bank.
It further argued that removing the commercial banking channel provides an imperfect view of the mining sector’s true contribution to Ghana’s foreign exchange position.
Source: newsthemegh.com