Minerals
Income
and
Investment
Fund
(MIIF)
has
launched
a
small-scale
gold
mining
incubation
pilot
programme
to
support
the
formalisation
of
the
sector
and
convert
small-scale
mining
entities
into
medium
to
large-scale
businesses.
The
support
focuses
on
corporate
governance,
provision
of
capital,
a
gold
production
traceability
mechanism,
and
access
to
the
market
through
the
MIIF
gold
trade
desk.
The
institution
is
piloting
its
support
programme
with
10
small-scale
miners,
developing
the
blueprint
for
a
larger
rollout.
“The
full
implementation
can
triple
the
US$2.4
billion
annual
revenue
from
small-scale
gold
mining
in
Ghana,”
says
Edward
Nana
Yaw
Koranteng,
CEO
of
Minerals
Income
and
Investment
Fund
(MIIF),
a
lawyer
with
an
investment
banking
background
that
spans
over
25
years.
“Illegal
mining
slashes
our
small-scale
mining
revenue
by
40%.
The
programme
will
tackle
this
by
formalising
the
sector.
With
gold
found
in
almost
every
region
in
Ghana,
this
small-scale
focus
can
unlock
nationwide
development.
It
will
be
the
most
revolutionary
support
for
artisanal
mining
in
Africa’s
history.”
In
tandem
with
its
resource
development
efforts,
MIlF
is
implementing
a
robust
strategy
to
nurture
a
skilled
workforce
within
the
mining
industry.
“Ghana
loses
skilled
goldsmiths
every
year
with
very
little
growth
in
the
jewellery
industry
making
end-of-value
addition
as
seen
in
non-producing
gold
countries
like
the
UAE,
where
Ghanaian
gold
is
crafted
into
high-end
jewellery.
To
counter
this,
MIIF
is
constructing
a
MIIF
technical
training
centre
at
the
University
of
Mines
and
Technology
with
a
jewellery-making
centre
to
capture
more
value
from
Ghana’s
gold,”
notes
Koranteng.
While
gold
remains
Ghana’s
golden
goose,
the
Western
African
country
is
looking
to
diversify
its
mining
sector.
“Gold
represents
about
90%
of
our
total
revenue
in
mining,
but
we
have
other
untapped
minerals,
such
as
lithium,
barite,
graphite,
copper,
cobalt,
uranium,
iron
ore,
and
industrial
salt,
in
huge
commercial
quantities,”
notes
Koranteng.
MIIF
has
invested
in
the
Ada
Songhor
Pans
salt
project,
Sub-Saharan
Africa’s
biggest
salt
project,
under
the
lead
of
a
Ghanaian
company
called
Electrochem.
It
is
simultaneously
leveraging
its
lithium
resources
to
support
the
Ghana
automobile
development
plan.
“Our
focus
on
lithium
is
to
leverage
ITS
industrial
importance
to
support
areas
such
as
battery
making,
and
research,
and
to
make
Ghana
the
EV
hub
of
sub-Saharan
Africa.
We
plan
to
leverage
the
African
Free
Trade
to
make
us
a
proper
hub
for
batteries,
solar
panels,
and
cars,”
Koranteng
says.
In
a
different
venture,
MIIF
is
investing
in
newfound
graphite
deposits
discovered
in
the
northern
part
of
Ghana
and
will
look
into
the
value
addition
of
Ghana’s
bauxite
reserves
to
help
develop
the
planned
Ghana-integrated
aluminium
development
plan.
MIIF
focuses
on
the
entire
mining
value
chain,
including
the
capital
markets.
“We
are
working
on
a
gold-backed
ETF
that
will
be
listed
on
Ghana’s
Stock
Exchange.
We
supported
the
listings
of
Asante
Gold,
which
we
invested
over
US$40
million,
Atlantic
Lithium,
for
which
we
are
investing
over
US$32
million,
and
the
same
shall
be
done
for
the
Electrochem
salt
project.
Our
small-scale
mining
program
also
aims
to
prepare
companies
for
potential
stock
exchange
listings,”
Koranteng
says.
“We
have
a
vision
where
we
see
the
likes
of
at
least
10
MIIF
in
other
African
countries
financing
major
mines
through
joint
ventures
and
reducing
reliance
on
Western
capital.
This
model
empowers
African
countries
to
develop
their
mining
sectors
and
share
best
practices.
MIIF
can
help
African
nations
establish
sovereign
wealth
funds
focused
on
mining,”
he
says.
MIIF
co-invests
alongside
investors
in
the
mining
sector,
thereby
reducing
risk
for
investors
and
forging
a
path
towards
a
more
diversified
mining
sector
in
Ghana.
A
s
a
sovereign
minerals
wealth
fund,
the
Minerals
Income
and
Investment
Fund
(MIIF)
manages
the
Ghanaian
government’s
equity
interest
in
mining
companies
and
collects
mineral
royalties
from
all
mining
operations.
Beyond
the
mine
shafts
of
Ghana,
the
institution
holds
a
profound
pan-African
vision
–
to
unlock
the
full
mining
potential
of
the
continent.
“We
are
one
of
the
fastest-growing
sovereign
wealth
funds
in
the
world,”
says
Edward
Nana
Yaw
Koranteng.
“In
October
2021,
we
had
about
US$195
million
in
assets
under
management.
We
are
now
working
north
of
US1.5
billion,”
he
notes.
Ghana’s
small-scale
mining
industry
contributes
up
to
a
staggering
40%
of
the
nation’s
gold
output,
surpassing
the
output
of
some
established
gold-producing
countries
in
Africa,
a
sector,
the
CEO
says
is
often
challenged
by
illegal
mining
activities.
“Ghana’s
small-scale
gold
mining
sector
employs
more
than
10%
of
the
Ghanaian
population,
while
large-scale
mining
employs
just
below
40,000
in
total,
which
makes
the
formalisation
of
the
small-scale
sector
imperative,”
says
Koranteng.