Samuel Abu Jinapor, the minister of lands and natural resources, has urged the industry's participants to support the government's initiative to create a solid infrastructure for the sector's value addition.
He said that the government's value-added policies and plans were ground-breaking and would ensure efficient use of the nation's natural resources.
Building a solid infrastructure for value addition, according to Mr. Jinapor, was essential because it would secure a paradigm shift in the exports of raw gold and other green minerals.
He reiterated that the commercial finding of lithium, iron ore, and other green minerals in various regions of the nation made it crucial for the necessary infrastructure to be in place.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday, the minister made this claim in advance of the national dialogue on natural resource management that will be held tomorrow and Friday at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra and organized by the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) in partnership with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
coloured minerals
Green minerals—also known as "minerals of the future"—are metals and minerals that are necessary to assist in the switch to renewable energy technologies that reduce carbon emissions.
Bauxite, cobalt, copper, lithium, granite, manganese, and nickel are just a few of the numerous minerals that fall under the category of "green minerals."
Countries are becoming more concerned about the need to stop using fossil fuels to power automobiles as a result of developing worries on a global scale.
To help minimize car emissions and their effect on the climate issue, governments are moving more and more towards the usage of electric vehicles.
According to Mr. Jinapor, the administration gave value addition top priority in order to promote the transition to electric cars.
The minerals of the future are those that are green, including lithium, cobalt, and phosphate. These minerals will be used to make electric car batteries, and if we can increase their value domestically, it is the best course of action, he added.
Interventions
Since 2017, the government has introduced a series of measures intended to maintain value in the natural resource sector, in keeping with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's objective of enhancing the value of the nation's natural resources.
To develop and promote Ghana's integrated aluminum sector, the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) was founded in 2018.
With the primary objective of using Ghana's iron ore deposits and related steel assets to accelerate the nation's industrialization, the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation (GIISDEC) was also founded in 2019.
On the grounds of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), the state has also built Royal Gold Ghana Limited (RGGL), a refinery in which it owns a 20% share.
The RGGL, a joint venture between the PMMC and the Indian business Rosy Royal Limited, has the ability to refine 300–500 kilograms of gold per day.
According to Mr. Jinapor, the creation of those organizations was a component of the government's strategy to increase the value of mineral resources.
He emphasized that moving towards value addition would not only guarantee that the nation profited fully from its endowment of natural resources but would also aid in addressing the climate catastrophe.
After decades of mining in the nation, the minister deemed it intolerable that minerals were being shipped in their unprocessed state.
He said that a situation like that made it hard for the nation to draw in the required foreign currency or generate job opportunities throughout the value chain.
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