The Managing Director of Heath GoldFields Ltd, Patrick Appiah Mensah, has called for a fundamental shift in Ghana’s mining industry—from simply extracting the country’s mineral resources to developing, owning and managing the industries and businesses built around them.
He said the measure of Ghana’s mineral wealth should not be determined solely by the volume of gold extracted from the ground, but by the economic opportunities, skills, businesses and institutions created and retained in the country.
Mr Appiah Mensah made the call at the celebration of the birthday of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, in his hometown, where he drew parallels between Nkrumah’s vision of political independence and the need for economic self-determination.
He said while Nkrumah’s generation answered the question of whether Africans could govern themselves through Ghana’s independence in 1957, the present generation faces a different but equally important question: whether Africans can take control of their economic destiny.
“Can we develop our own resources, build our own institutions, finance our own ambitions and create prosperity for our own people?” he asked.
According to him, Ghana’s substantial mineral endowment provides an opportunity to answer that question through greater local participation and ownership across the mining value chain.
“The true measure of that wealth cannot simply be the number of ounces we take out of the ground. The real measure must be what we leave above the ground,” he said.
He said this should be reflected in the development of Ghanaian engineers, geologists, metallurgists and technicians with world-class capabilities, as well as jobs for young people and stronger Ghanaian-owned businesses participating in the mining value chain.
Mr Appiah Mensah also called for mining communities to benefit from sustainable economic opportunities that would continue beyond the productive life of individual mines.
He said the ultimate objective should be for Ghanaians and Africans to develop the capacity to build, own and manage globally competitive enterprises.
‘A Ghanaian-led mining company can compete’
The Heath GoldFields MD said the company saw a direct connection between its operations and Nkrumah’s vision of African self-determination.
“Our responsibility is not simply to mine gold. Our responsibility is to demonstrate Ghanaian capability,” he said.
He said Heath GoldFields sought to demonstrate that a Ghanaian-led mining company could mobilise capital, deploy modern technology, develop world-class professionals, operate responsibly, protect the environment, engage host communities and compete according to international standards.
He cautioned that economic independence could not be achieved through rhetoric alone, arguing that it required competence, discipline, enterprise, technology, innovation and confidence in African capabilities.
“Economic independence will not come from slogans. It will be built through competence. It will be built through discipline. It will be built through enterprise. It will be built through technology and innovation,” he said.
Bogoso-Prestea redevelopment
Mr Appiah Mensah also used the occasion to acknowledge the support of the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, for the redevelopment of the Bogoso-Prestea gold mine.
He described the revival of the mine as more than the reopening of a mining operation, saying it represented the restoration of livelihoods, rebuilding of communities and renewal of hope.
According to him, Heath GoldFields currently employs about 2,000 Ghanaian nationals, with the economic impact extending beyond direct employees to their families, local contractors, suppliers, traders and communities connected to the mine.
“The revival of Bogoso-Prestea is not simply the reopening of a mine. It is the restoration of livelihoods. It is the rebuilding of communities. And it is the renewal of hope,” he said.
He expressed appreciation to the Lands and Natural Resources Minister for his support for the redevelopment of what he described as an important national asset.
From extraction to ownership
Mr Appiah Mensah said political independence should not be regarded as the conclusion of Africa’s journey, but rather as an opportunity and responsibility for Africans to determine their economic future.
He therefore urged the country to pursue a mining model that would deepen local capabilities and ownership.
He outlined what he described as an economic assignment for the current generation: moving “from extraction to processing; from employment to entrepreneurship; from participation to ownership; and from dependency to capability.”
He said Heath GoldFields wanted young Ghanaians who visited its operations to understand that African companies could successfully lead complex industries and deploy advanced technologies.
“We must move from merely possessing resources to mastering the industries built around those resources,” he said.
Mr Appiah Mensah said such a transformation would constitute one of the most significant ways of continuing what he described as the unfinished work of African self-determination associated with Nkrumah’s vision.
He concluded by calling for renewed commitment to building Ghanaian capacity in the mining industry and wished Ghanaians and Africans continued progress as they celebrated the legacy of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
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