Ghana pushes China for deeper mining partnerships, value addition

Ghana is seeking deeper mining partnerships with China, with the government urging Chinese investors to move beyond the extraction and export of raw minerals and invest in processing, technology transfer, skills development and local supply chains. The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, made the call when he addressed the Ministerial Forum on International Mining Cooperation and the opening of the 28th China Mining Conference and Exhibition (CHINA MINING 2026) in Tianjin, China. Representing President John Dramani Mahama and the Ghanaian government, Mr Buah said Ghana was seeking a new generation of mining partnerships that would ensure greater value was retained in the country while providing investors with a stable and commercially viable operating environment.

He said Ghana’s mineral resources must be used to drive industrialisation, create jobs and build local expertise rather than continue to be exported largely as raw materials. “The next chapter of mining must be measured not simply by what we take from the ground, but by what we leave above it: industries, skills, technology, restored land, stronger communities and a more prosperous nation,” he said. Ghana seeks value addition Mr Buah said Ghana was determined to move away from a model in which resource-rich countries exported raw materials while most processing and value creation occurred elsewhere.

He said the government wanted future mining partnerships to support domestic processing, industrial development, job creation and skills development. “For the young Ghanaian looking for work, value addition is not an economic theory. It is the possibility of building a life at home,” he said.

The Minister said Ghana was reviewing its mining regulatory framework, formalising artisanal and small-scale mining and strengthening transparency and responsible oversight across the gold value chain. He also cited the presence of major Chinese mining companies, including Chifeng Gold Group, Shandong Gold and Zijin Mining, in Ghana as evidence of the potential for deeper cooperation. “We want the next generation of partnerships to go further into processing, technology, skills development, infrastructure and local supply chains,” Mr Buah said.

He said China’s experience in linking natural resources to processing, manufacturing, infrastruc… Lands and Natural Resources Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah said Ghana wants its mineral wealth to generate more jobs, build local expertise and create industries rather than simply leave the country as raw material. Addressing the Ministerial Forum on International Mining Cooperation and the opening of the 28th China Mining Conference and Exhibition 2026 in Tianjin, China, Mr Buah said Ghana was reviewing its mining regulatory framework while strengthening transparency and oversight across the gold value chain.

He also highlighted the presence of Chinese companies including Chifeng Gold Group, Shandong Gold and Zijin Mining as evidence of the potential for stronger cooperation. Mr Buah said Ghana wants future partnerships to extend into processing, infrastructure, technology and local supply chains. “The question is no longer only, ‘Who will buy our resources?’ The more consequential question is: ‘What can we build together from them?’” he asked.