The Ghana Chamber of Mines has revealed that gold production fell from 4.2 million ounces in 2019 to 4.02 million ounces in 2020.

This was 12.1% drop in the production figures. In a year that businesses were ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic with attendant job losses and reduced value to the global economy, Ghana’s mining sector however, retained its position as Africa’s top gold producer despite the novel coronavirus pandemic.

According to the Ghana Chamber of Mines President Eric Asubonteng, the decline in production was the country’s biggest since 2004.

The mining sector’s share of Ghana’s GDP fell to 7.5% in the year from 8.6% the year before, Mr. Asubonteng indicated on the 93rd Annual General Meeting on the theme ” Performance of the Mining Industry in 2020”.

Meanwhile the mining and quarries sector remained the leading source of direct domestic revenue, contributing 4.17 billion Ghanaian cedis ($724 million) thanks to higher gold prices boosting royalties.

As a result, Ghana moved up to 6th in the Global production of gold and retained number one status in Africa for the second year running beating South Africa.

On the Gold exploration budget in 2020, Ghana dropped to 4th on the the Africa terrain with West African neighbours, Cote D’Ivoire, ranked highest with exploration budget of USD $105 Million.

The mining sector in Ghana continued to stand tall in supporting the country’s fiscal revenue generation as part of its statutory obligations and corporate governance tenets with a USD $27.8 Million in 2020 supporting community development initiatives across Ghana.

The interventions included roads, healthcare, water and sanitation.