The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) has called for urgent reforms to Ghana’s revenue mobilisation framework for small-scale gold mining, warning that the state is failing to derive adequate fiscal benefits from a sector that is becoming increasingly dominant in the country’s gold economy.
The IFS said the development was particularly concerning because small-scale mining generated more than half of Ghana’s gold export earnings in 2025, yet the government collected little or no mineral royalties from the sector.
Speaking at a press conference on the Institute’s assessment of the 2026 Mid-year Budget Review, the Executive Director of the IFS, Dr Said Boakye, said the government had not outlined a clear strategy for mobilising revenue from small-scale mining despite the sector’s growing contribution to gold exports.
He said Ghana’s total gold exports increased by 103.3 per cent in 2025, rising from US$10.31 billion in 2024 to US$20.98 billion.
Of that amount, small-scale mining contributed approximately US$10.80 billion, representing 51.5 per cent of Ghana’s total gold export value.
However, the sharp increase in export earnings was not matched by a corresponding rise in mineral royalty receipts.
Mineral royalties increased by only 21.1 per cent, from US$364.87 million in 2024 to US$441.82 million in 2025.
Dr Boakye said information from the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) showed that the mineral royalties recorded in 2025 were entirely attributable to large-scale mining, with no royalty revenue reported from the small-scale sector.
He said the situation pointed to a significant weakness in the country’s fiscal regime, particularly in its ability to capture revenue from a rapidly expanding segment of the mining industry.
“The government did not articulate any strategy in the mid-year budget for mobilizing revenue from the small-scale gold mining sector, despite the critical need for it,” he said.
The IFS Executive Director also expressed concern that other major revenue streams, including corporate income tax, appeared to be generating little or no revenue from small-scale mining.
He argued that the widening gap between the sector’s export performance and its contribution to government revenue meant Ghana was not adequately benefiting from the exploitation of its mineral resources.
The concern has gained added significance following the expansion of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme and the establishment of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), which have increased the prominence of artisanal and small-scale mining in Ghana’s gold trade.
Official production figures show that small-scale gold production reached 3.11 million ounces in 2025, out of total national production of nearly 5.94 million ounces.
GoldBod data also indicated that the artisanal and small-scale mining sector exported approximately 103 tonnes of gold valued at about US$10.8 billion during the year.
For the first time, the export value from the small-scale sector exceeded that of large-scale mining, underscoring its growing importance to Ghana’s foreign exchange earnings and overall gold economy.
Dr Boakye said the government needed to respond to the changing structure of the mining sector by developing a comprehensive framework capable of ensuring that increased production and exports translated into stronger public revenue.
He stressed that Ghana’s mineral resources belonged to the people and were held in trust by the state, making it necessary for the country to secure a fair fiscal return from their exploitation.
The IFS therefore urged the government to make revenue mobilisation from small-scale mining a priority and strengthen systems for monitoring production, exports and tax obligations.
According to the Institute, improving revenue capture from the sector would provide the state with additional resources to finance development programmes while ensuring that the country derives greater public benefit from its mineral wealth.
