Ghana’s gold regulators introduced a new sliding‑scale royalty rate that rises in line with bullion prices, despite opposition from China, the US, and mining executives.
Africa’s top gold producer, like governments across the continent, is trying to capture more value from surging commodity prices.
Under the new system, miners will pay the government 12% of gross revenue earned from gold sales when the precious metal hits $4,500 per ounce — it currently trades above $5,000 per ounce — according to details seen by Reuters. It replaces a flat 5% royalty rate. Lithium royalties have also shifted to a sliding scale.
African countries have attempted various policies to secure a greater share of wealth from natural resources, such as Mali’s revised mining code which sparked a dispute with Canadian miner Barrick, Zimbabwe’s recent suspension of lithium exports, and DR Congo’s cobalt export curbs. “There is a real potential of an increase in revenue driven largely by the ‘price hikes’ in gold,” Patrick Stephenson, Ghana country manager at the non-profit Natural Resource Governance Institute advisory body, said of Accra’s new policy. He told Semafor other nations may adopt Ghana’s approach as a model.