By Eugene Davis
The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has called on government to place greater emphasis on the development of Ghana’s industrial and development minerals through the formulation of a National Industrial Minerals Value Chain Strategy, arguing that the country is leaving significant economic value untapped.
According to the energy policy think tank, a well-structured value chain strategy would help transform Ghana’s industrial minerals from low-value extractive commodities into drivers of industrial growth, job creation, and sustainable revenue mobilisation, rather than short-term gains from raw extraction.
Speaking to the media after a capacity-building workshop for members of the Parliamentary Press Corps of Ghana, Senior Policy Analyst and Monitoring and Evaluation Manager at ACEP, Ms Maybel Acquaye, said the absence of a deliberate national strategy for industrial minerals has constrained their contribution to Ghana’s development.
She explained that a National Industrial Minerals Value Chain Strategy would prioritise value addition, strengthen local content participation, promote SME growth, and attract targeted investments, all of which are critical for Ghana’s industrialisation agenda.
“We need to move beyond simply extracting minerals and exporting them in raw or low-value forms. The real economic benefits come when we deliberately develop the entire value chain,” she noted.
Overreliance on Gold limits broader Mineral potential
Ms Acquaye observed that Ghana’s mineral policy and investment focus has historically centred on precious minerals, particularly gold, while industrial and development minerals have received comparatively limited attention.
While acknowledging the importance of gold to Ghana’s economy, she stressed that industrial minerals such as limestone, clay, kaolin, silica sand and salt are equally critical inputs for manufacturing, construction, agro-processing and infrastructure development.
“We are not saying Ghana should replace gold or abandon precious minerals. What we are saying is that industrial and development minerals also have a rightful place in our economic transformation journey,” she explained.
Stuck at the Bottom of the Value Chain
According to Ms Acquaye, Ghana’s current use of industrial minerals remains largely confined to raw extraction and low-value applications, particularly in the construction sector and traditional uses.
Using clay as an example, she noted that its application in Ghana is often limited to pottery, flower pots and low-grade inputs for poultry production, despite its potential for higher-value products such as ceramic tiles, sanitary ware, electrical insulators and advanced industrial ceramics.
“Our studies show that the higher you move up the value chain, the greater the economic value, employment opportunities and fiscal returns,” she said.
She added that Ghana continues to import large volumes of high-end ceramic and construction materials, even though the raw materials required for their production are available locally.
“Some local companies are producing tiles, but imported products still dominate the market. This undermines domestic industry and reflects deeper structural and policy gaps,” she observed.
Policy, Regulatory and Fiscal Reforms Needed
Beyond value addition, Ms Acquaye underscored the need for policy reforms that formally recognise industrial minerals as a core part of the extractive sector, rather than treating them as secondary or peripheral resources.
She also called for stronger regulatory and fiscal oversight, including the deployment of modern monitoring and tracking technologies to accurately capture production volumes, reduce under-declaration, and improve tax compliance.
From an economic perspective, she explained that the low fiscal contribution of industrial minerals is largely a function of their limited processing and low unit value, not their lack of potential.
“When minerals are only extracted and sold in raw form, government revenue remains minimal. But once we move into processing, beneficiation and manufacturing, the tax base expands and the socio-economic benefits multiply,” she noted.
Targeted Investment and Industrial Linkages
Ms Acquaye urged government to strategically direct foreign direct investment (FDI) towards beneficiation, processing and high-end manufacturing, rather than concentrating investment incentives on extraction where local participation is already relatively strong.
She explained that developing midstream and downstream activities would deepen industrial linkages, create sustainable jobs, support local suppliers and increase domestic demand for Ghana’s industrial minerals.
Key Recommendations
Among the additional measures proposed by ACEP are:
Improving data quality and reserve certification for industrial minerals
Facilitating off-take agreements between mineral producers and domestic manufacturers
Prioritising large-scale processing plants for limestone, kaolin, silica sand and salt
Strengthening coordination between mineral, industrial and trade policies
A missed opportunity that can be recovered
Ms Acquaye noted that a value-chain-driven approach to industrial minerals development represents a significant but still recoverable opportunity for Ghana.
“If Ghana gets this right, industrial minerals can become a strong pillar of revenue mobilisation, industrial development and inclusive economic growth,” she said.23
