President John Dramani Mahama has defended his government’s decision to restrict gold exports, saying the measure is essential to ensuring Ghana derives maximum benefit from its mineral resources.

Speaking during an engagement with the Ghanaian community in Moscow, President Mahama said the significant revenues recorded from gold so far demonstrated the potential benefits of the policy as it is expanded to cover other minerals.

He said the government’s broader objective was to accelerate national economic transformation by ensuring that more value was retained from the country’s natural resources.

President Mahama explained that the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) Act formed part of efforts to streamline the gold trade, retain foreign exchange earnings and ensure mineral wealth translated into tangible benefits for Ghanaians, including supporting the stability of the cedi.

“Prior to that, anybody could buy gold in Ghana and take it out, and the forex normally didn’t come back,” he said.

He added that a key priority of his administration was to formalise the artisanal and small-scale mining sector to ensure that every ounce of gold produced in the country was properly accounted for.

The President said Ghana’s long-term objective was to achieve full enforcement of the export restrictions by 2030, ensuring that no raw or unprocessed minerals leave the country.

The phased policy is expected to extend beyond gold to other major mineral resources, including bauxite, manganese, iron ore and lithium.