Ghana to invest $1.5 billion in mineral processing
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on 3News
Ghana will invest $1.5 billion in the local processing of manganese, bauxite, lithium and gold, Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson announced on 12 November 2026. The plan provides for a ban on exports of raw artisanal gold from 2028 and raw manganese and bauxite from 2030, according to 3News.
Ghana will invest $1.5 billion in the local processing of its critical minerals, Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson announced during the presentation of the 2027 budget before Parliament on Thursday 12 November 2026, according to 3News. The investment, under pillar 4 of the “New Economy” programme, will focus on four minerals: manganese, bauxite, lithium and gold.
For gold, the government wants to refine locally at least 70% of artisanal and small-scale production by December 2027, then 100% by December 2028, with a ban on exports of raw artisanal, small- and medium-scale gold from 2028. For manganese and bauxite, the target is to process at least 50% locally by the end of 2028 and 100% by the end of 2030, with a ban on raw exports in 2030; bauxite will be used to refine alumina and smelt aluminium. For lithium, the country will begin with local refining before gradually developing production capacity for battery-grade chemicals, components and battery cells.
The government also wants to create a 24-hour critical minerals processing enclave in the Western Region. From 2027, it plans to build a railway line from Takoradi to Nyinahin, connect the mining towns of Nsuta and Awaso, transport manganese and bauxite to the west for local processing, then extend the line from Nyinahin to Hamile, in the Upper West Region, by 2030, with a modern inland port at Hamile serving Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and the Sahel.
These measures complement the priorities of the 2027 budget, whose presentation had been announced for Thursday evening, and add to other local processing targets set by Accra, such as the ban on imported rice by 2030.
