Copyright ghanamma
Former Minerals Income Investment Fund chief Edward Koranteng says African nations can turn record gold prices into lasting economic strength if they invest strategically across the mining value chain. Gold prices have soared above three thousand dollars per ounce amid persistent inflation, global supply chain disruptions and geopolitical tensions. Koranteng explained that central banks increased gold purchases to hedge against currency weakness and sanctions, particularly after the Russia–Ukraine war and trade frictions between the United States and China. The surge, he noted, reflects the world’s anxiety over inflation and economic uncertainty. He believes this environment offers African gold producers a rare opportunity. Ghana’s domestic gold purchase programme, together with the potential listing of a gold-backed exchange-traded fund, could strengthen national reserves and attract long-term investors. Similar innovations across the continent, including Zimbabwe’s gold-backed digital tokens and South Africa’s blockchain tracing systems, demonstrate how technology can formalise small-scale mining and improve transparency. Koranteng also highlighted the growing importance of critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt and graphite in global industrial policy. Demand is expected to rise sharply as energy transition and technology industries expand. He said Africa’s largely untapped deposits position the continent as a potential alternative supplier to Western markets seeking to reduce reliance on China. On long-term wealth creation, Koranteng pointed to the example of Ghana’s Minerals Income Investment Fund. During his tenure, the fund’s assets under management grew from one hundred twenty-five million dollars in 2021 to about one billion dollars by the end of 2024. He said well-governed sovereign wealth funds could transform finite mineral resources into lasting economic buffers, provided they maintain transparency and independence from political influence. He cited the fund’s investments in Asante Gold Corporation, Atlantic Lithium and the Ada Songhor Salt Project as examples of how state-backed investment can unlock value and increase Ghanaian participation in mining ventures. These deals, he explained, combined equity acquisition, capital market listings and local value addition to ensure communities benefit directly from resource development. While some countries in Africa are turning to asset nationalisation, Koranteng cautioned that sustainable growth depends on policies that empower domestic investors. “Resource indigenisation is when domestic policies allow indigenous private investors and domestic capital to be the fulcrum of the mining resources,” he said. He added that governments should focus on creating an enabling environment where local entrepreneurs and international partners can collaborate to build robust mining industries that feed into national development. Koranteng concluded that Africa’s challenge is to convert temporary windfalls into structural transformation. He said the gold boom and rising demand for critical minerals provide a window for African economies to deepen capital markets, expand industrial capacity and build resilience for the future.
