President John Mahama has announced plans to formally halt the export of unprocessed mineral resources by 2030, marking a decisive shift towards resource-driven industrialisation, local value addition, and national economic sovereignty.
Mr Mahama announced this while delivering a keynote address at the opening of the 2nd Edition of the Mining in Motion Summit in Accra on Thursday.
The summit, themed “One Continent. One Voice on Minerals: Aligning Africa’s Mineral Future” brought together policymakers, industry executives, and continental leaders to deliberate on the sustainable governance of Africa’s critical mineral endowments.
The president outlined a phased implementation roadmap to ensure the nation’s mineral wealth directly catalyses domestic manufacturing, infrastructure expansion, and job creation.
“We have already imposed a ban on the export of iron scrap and non-ferrous metals. I have set a clear goal that by 2030 raw minerals must no longer leave our shores,” Mr Mahama declared. “Our bauxites, manganese, iron, lithium, and other minerals must support processes and industrial development here at home.”
According to him, the transition was anchored by transparent regulatory timetables, targeted legislation, and clear commodity-specific benchmarks.
The president, who reaffirmed that government policy will pivot from merely extracting raw materials to building complete industrial value chains, highlighted the integrated aluminium industry as a flagship priority.
He added, “Every major initiative must have clear responsibilities, measurable milestones, and transparent reporting. In Ghana’s aluminium industry, our objective is to modernise VALCO and develop domestic aluminium refining, directly linking Ghanaian bauxite to smelting and downstream manufactured products.”
While reassuring the international and domestic investor community, Mr Mahama noted that local processing obligations will be matched by state commitments to provide competitive operating conditions.
“The government is committed to deploying critical infrastructure, fostering technical skill acquisition, and establishing viable financing frameworks,” he explained.
The president added that legislative action alone cannot build a sustainable sector without a predictable, transparent, and supportive operating environment.
Mr Mahama advocated translating the frameworks into coordinated investments, regional infrastructure, and larger markets for African producers.
“Investors need predictable rules, clear institutional responsibilities, and prompt approvals. Communities need confidence that licence conditions and environmental obligations will be rigorously enforced,” he noted.
The president also urged African leaders to operationalise the African Mining Vision (AMV) by aligning domestic laws and ratifying instruments that establish the African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC) to harmonise mineral governance across borders.
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