IFS urges govt to boost revenue from small-scale gold mining

The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) has called on the government to strengthen revenue mobilisation from small-scale gold mining, warning that the state is not receiving adequate fiscal returns despite the sector’s growing contribution to Ghana’s gold exports.

The IFS said small-scale mining accounted for more than half of the country’s gold export value in 2025, yet the state received little or no mineral royalty revenue from the sector.

Speaking at a press conference on the Institute’s analysis of the 2026 Mid-year Budget Review, the Executive Director of the IFS, Dr Said Boakye, said the government had not outlined a clear strategy for mobilising revenue from small-scale gold mining.

“The government did not articulate any strategy in the mid-year budget for mobilizing revenue from the small-scale gold mining sector, despite the critical need for it,” he said.

Dr Boakye said Ghana’s gold exports more than doubled in 2025, increasing by 103.3 per cent from US$10.31 billion in 2024 to US$20.98 billion.

Of the total exports, small-scale mining contributed about US$10.80 billion, representing 51.5 per cent of Ghana’s gold export value.

Despite the significant increase in gold exports, mineral royalty receipts grew by only 21.1 per cent, from US$364.87 million in 2024 to US$441.82 million in 2025.

Dr Boakye said information from the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) indicated that all mineral royalties collected in 2025 came from large-scale mining, with no royalties recorded from the small-scale mining sector.

He said the gap between the rapid growth in gold exports and the limited increase in royalty collections exposed weaknesses in the fiscal arrangements governing small-scale mining.

The IFS Executive Director noted that the sector had assumed even greater importance in Ghana’s gold economy following the implementation of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme and the establishment of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod).

He said enquiries by the IFS also suggested that other major revenue instruments, including corporate income tax, generated little or no revenue from small-scale mining.

According to him, the failure to adequately capture revenue from the sector was limiting the government’s ability to convert the country’s rising gold exports into resources for financing economic development programmes.

Dr Boakye therefore urged the government to develop a comprehensive framework for mobilising revenue from small-scale mining and strengthen mechanisms to ensure that the country receives a fair return from the exploitation of its mineral resources.

He stressed that Ghana’s mineral resources were publicly endowed and held in trust by the state on behalf of the people.

Official 2025 production figures showed that small-scale gold production increased to 3.11 million ounces, contributing to total national gold output of nearly 5.94 million ounces.

GoldBod also reported that the artisanal and small-scale mining sector exported approximately 103 tonnes of gold valued at about US$10.8 billion in 2025, surpassing the export value of the large-scale mining sector for the first time.

The IFS said revenue mobilisation from small-scale mining must therefore become a government priority to ensure that the sector’s expanding production and export earnings generate greater fiscal benefits for the state.