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THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF GHANA

The Republic of Ghana covers an area of 238,540 square kilometers (km2) on the coast of West Africa and supported a population of about 20.6 million in 2003. Ghana was primarily an agricultural economy; this sector accounted for about one third of the gross domestic product (GDP) and more than 50% of the labour force. Formal mining and quarrying accounted for approximately 25% of the GDP and about 10% of Government revenues and employed about 14,000 workers, or less than 1% of the labour force. Artisanal miners, which are locally known as “galamsey,” may have accounted for an additional 100,000 people involved in diamond, gold, and industrial mineral exploitation, some of which was illegal. Ghana was the second leading gold producer in Africa after South Africa, the third leading African producer of aluminum metal and manganese ore, and a significant producer of bauxite and diamond. In addition, a number of industrial minerals, which included clays (kaolin), dimension stone, limestone, salt, sand and gravel, and silica sand, were produced on a small scale (Barning, 1997, p. 1).

The GDP based on purchasing power parity was $44.44 billion with an estimated real growth rate of 4.7% compared with 5.8% in 2002. The GDP per capital was estimated to be $2,200. The inflation rate increased to 26.7% from 14.8% in 2002 (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 2004§1).