African countries should focus on resource indigenization rather than nationalization to maximize benefits from record gold prices and growing demand for critical minerals, according to Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF).
Koranteng, who led MIIF through a period of dramatic growth, argues that governments taking direct control of mining assets rarely succeeds because they often lack operational capacity. Instead, he advocates for policies that make indigenous private investors and domestic capital the fulcrum of mining resources while creating environments where the private sector can thrive.
Resource indigenization differs fundamentally from nationalization by allowing domestic policies to empower local investors and contractors rather than government takeovers. Ghana’s local content policies, for example, mandate that all contract mining be undertaken by Ghanaian contractors while requiring mining companies to source supplies from local providers down to the micro level.
Speaking about the current gold market, Koranteng noted that global macroeconomic trends, geopolitical tensions, and central bank positioning are driving prices above $3,000 per ounce. He accurately predicted this threshold in late 2023 at various mining stakeholder conferences, citing interlocking factors including post-COVID supply chain constrictions, the Ukraine-Russia war with attendant sanctions, and trade tensions that increased central bank gold purchases as a derisking mechanism.
Gold has traditionally served as a hedge against inflation, currency devaluation, and a safe haven during global economic uncertainty. The current price trend measures how deep these issues run today, according to Koranteng.
However, he cautioned that the trajectory may not continue indefinitely. Central banks may slow their purchase pace as liquidity needs rise and accumulation costs at $3,000 and above start biting. Turkey, which has been among the top five gold buyers over the past three years, has already begun selling gold for liquidity, with purchases declining from the first half of 2024.
For African gold-producing countries like Ghana, these represent among the best times in history. Ghana’s domestic gold purchase program, covering both large-scale and small-scale miners at negotiated prices, provides advantages in bolstering reserves. The country can also realize the listing of a proposed gold-backed exchange-traded fund (ETF) to deepen capital markets and provide investment alternatives, especially for pension funds.
Zimbabwe is using a gold-backed digital token to stabilize its currency, while South Africa employs blockchain technology through the SAPMR system to track gold supply chains and trace legitimate gold. This technology could help formalize small-scale gold mining sectors in Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
Regarding critical minerals, Koranteng described lithium and rare earth elements as the currency of the future, driven by what he calls four pillars: energy transition, technology, industrial policy, and security. These pillars, backed by current global tensions, will form the bedrock of Western policies directing capital in the critical minerals sector.
Geopolitical tensions between China and the United States create opportunities for Africa as an alternative supply source for the West. Although China controls approximately 80 percent of rare earth processing, including lithium processing, Africa’s critical minerals sector remains untapped and underdeveloped. Ghana, Mali, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Angola reportedly hold huge untapped lithium deposits, while Guinea, Ghana, Congo, and South Africa contain vast potential in manganese, bauxite, cobalt, graphite, and nickel.
Demand for battery minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and graphite could grow by 500 percent over the next 25 years driven by energy transition dynamics. However, critical minerals carry more cyclical risks than gold because they’re tied to technology shifts, manufacturing, potential substitutes, electric vehicle adoption, and offtake contract structures.
Koranteng emphasized that environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations remain vital for mining investors in Africa because mining directly affects people, land, water, and social cohesion. ESG must be integrated into all investment models and form an integral part of risk management and government policies.
In 2024, Koranteng led Ghana’s first lithium investment negotiation with Atlantic Lithium, which many described as the best negotiated mineral contract in years. MIIF acquired shares representing 3.1 percent of Atlantic Lithium’s holding company at a negotiated strike price, making MIIF the third-largest shareholder globally. The fund also invested $27.9 million in the local asset comprising seven tenements, including the world-class Ewoyaa discovery in Ghana’s central region.
The agreement increased Ghana’s free carried interest from 10 percent to 13 percent, bringing total Ghanaian interest to approximately 22 percent. The deal stipulated that one percent of gross revenue would be allocated to a community development fund, while royalties to the state increased from five percent to 10 percent. Atlantic Lithium must list on the Ghana Stock Exchange, and no raw lithium can be exported without in-country processing.
During Koranteng’s tenure, MIIF increased its assets under management from $125 million in 2021 to approximately $1.0 billion by the end of 2024. This figure could reach $1.8 billion pending completion of a re-evaluation of government equity interests in all mining companies that began in October 2024. In 2022, MIIF outperformed its benchmarked S&P 500 index by approximately 13 percent, and in 2024, profits increased by 300 percent to GHS1.906 billion with free cash of GHS5.6 billion.
Koranteng believes sovereign wealth funds are essential for African mining countries, describing them as long-term plays with investment horizons between five and 11 years. They turn finite mineral resource wealth into economic buffers and development channels, creating generational wealth and financial resilience.
MIIF invested $40 million in Asante Gold Corporation of Canada, covering the Mensin Bibiani mine and Chirano gold mine. As of September 2025, the value of MIIF’s stake had increased by approximately 100 percent. The fund also invested in the Ada Songhor Salt project toward creating Africa’s largest salt production enclave, with potential annual revenue of $500 million and export capacity exceeding one million tons per year.
Global mergers and acquisitions activities in mining over the past five years reached an estimated $350 billion, with Africa accounting for roughly $60 billion. South Africa recorded approximately $18 billion covering over 35 mining deals between 2020 and 2025, while Ghana’s activities exceeded $5 billion over the same period.
Koranteng concluded that the mining sector must help grow capital markets and create locally owned mining champions along the value chain. Through indigenization, the sector fosters cooperation with foreign direct investors, creates jobs, and develops skill pools, creating what he calls a circle of excellence that makes mining the first pillar of the economy.
