Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), Justina Nelson, has pledged to consolidate the fund’s 2025 gains as management works to position the institution among world class sovereign wealth funds. Nelson said the focus in 2026 would be on deepening reforms and strengthening partnerships with stakeholders to secure long term value from Ghana’s mineral wealth for current and future generations.
Nelson made the commitment in her 2026 New Year message shared across MIIF’s official social media platforms on Saturday. Her remarks follow what MIIF described as a successful year marked by major institutional reforms and improved performance, particularly in mineral royalty receipts.
“Last year marked a defining phase in our transformational journey, delivering strong institutional reforms aligned with the standards of a world class sovereign wealth fund,” Nelson stated. She added that in 2026, together with stakeholders, the fund will build on the successes of 2025, including strong financial performance, robust internal systems, sound compliance and risk management, and strategic investments that secure value for both present and future generations.
Ghana’s mineral revenue outlook showed strong momentum in 2025, with data from the first three quarters indicating significant growth in royalty payments across all major mining segments. Large scale gold mining remained the main driver of royalty inflows, generating 291.87 million US dollars by the end of September 2025. This represents a 40.18 percent increase compared to the 208.20 million dollars recorded over the same period in 2024, according to MIIF data.
Mid tier gold mining also posted strong growth, with royalties rising by 46.38 percent, from 40.61 million cedis between January and September 2024 to 59.44 million cedis in 2025. The manganese sector recorded the most dramatic improvement, with royalty payments surging by approximately 170 percent. Inflows rose from 4.72 million dollars in 2024 to 12.75 million dollars in 2025, driven by higher production and stronger compliance by operators.
The quarry industry contributed to the upward trend, posting a 13.12 percent increase in royalties from 11.62 million cedis to 13.15 million cedis, while the sand mining subsector recorded a 21.48 percent rise, with receipts increasing from 364,998.58 cedis to 433,406.41 cedis. Collections from mining subsectors amounted to over 300 million dollars for the first three quarters, with sand winning and quarry subsectors contributing 13.58 million cedis.
The gains have been attributed to improved regulatory compliance, higher production levels in key minerals, and sustained investor confidence in the mining sector. MIIF reported assets under management reaching 919.39 million dollars by June 2025, representing a 58.46 percent increase from 2024 year end figures, according to data provided during a December 2025 meeting with Gold Fields Ghana executives.
The growth reflects both investment returns and increased royalty collections as global gold prices remained elevated throughout the period. Ghana’s gold production reached approximately 4.9 million ounces or roughly 136 metric tons in 2024, representing an 8.5 percent increase compared to 2023. Gold exports reached 11.6 billion dollars in 2024, a 52.6 percent increase from 7.6 billion dollars in 2023.
The mining sector emerged as the largest source of domestic tax revenue in 2023, contributing a record 11.55 billion cedis, equivalent to approximately 980 million dollars, in taxes. As of October 2024, gold exports alone accounted for 9.58 billion dollars, representing more than half of Ghana’s total export earnings of 16.5 billion dollars.
Ghana overtook South Africa in 2019 to become Africa’s largest gold producer, producing 142.4 metric tonnes that year. The country maintains its position as the continent’s leading gold producer and the world’s sixth largest. In early 2025, Ghana earned 5.2 billion dollars from gold exports during the first four months, a 76.4 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024.
The Chamber of Mines projected Ghana’s gold production could increase by around 6.25 percent to approximately 5.1 million ounces in 2025, up from 2024’s record output of 4.8 million ounces. The forecast followed Ghana’s stronger than expected performance in 2024, when total gold output rose 19.3 percent. High output has been driven by strong production from artisanal mining and the introduction of new large scale operations, countering declines at the country’s aging mines.
Several major gold mines are expected to scale up production in the short to medium term. Newmont’s Ahafo South Mine and Shandong’s Namdini Mine are driving increased output, while the Cardinal Namdini Mine became Ghana’s first large scale greenfield gold project in over a decade. The mine achieved its first gold pour milestone in November 2024 and is projected to produce 358,000 ounces annually with an estimated 5.1 million ounces of gold reserves over a 15 year production lifespan.
For manganese, the Chamber of Mines projects production to rise to eight million tonnes in 2025 from five million tons in 2024. Bauxite is expected to reach two million tonnes from a record 1.7 million tons in 2024, while diamond output is forecast to climb to 400,000 carats in 2025 from 330,000 carats last year. Ghana ranks as Africa’s second largest producer of manganese, with production reaching approximately 2.5 million metric tons in 2022.
The robust performance of Ghana’s mining sector has been supported by government initiatives and policy reforms. In early 2025, Ghana established the Ghana Gold Board to streamline gold purchases from small scale miners, increasing earnings and reducing smuggling. The government ordered foreign companies to exit the local gold trading market by April 30, 2025, with exceptions for those that can apply to buy gold directly from the Ghana Gold Board.
Commenting on the royalty performance, Nelson described the results as both encouraging and strong motivation for the fund to deepen its work with the mining industry. She noted that MIIF would continue to engage stakeholders across the mining value chain to ensure operators remain fully compliant and committed to their obligations while working with interagencies to sustain growth.
Nelson was optimistic that the fund would close the year on a stronger footing, having recorded remarkable performance in royalty receipts during the first three quarters. She pledged the fund’s unwavering commitment to stay focused on its mandate and ensure that Ghana’s mineral wealth continues to benefit both present and future generations.
The Minerals Income Investment Fund was established by parliamentary Act 978 in 2018 to manage equity interests and mineral royalties accruing to Ghana from mining operations. The fund aims to maximize value from mineral income through strategic investments across diversified asset classes and sectors beyond mining. MIIF has 100 percent ownership of Agyapa Royalties Company, described as the only state owned gold royalties company in Africa.
The fund’s investment strategy emphasizes diversification across sectors and geographies to reduce exposure to commodity price volatility. While anchored in mining revenues, MIIF seeks opportunities in infrastructure, financial services, agriculture, and technology that generate consistent returns independent of mineral price cycles.
Recent initiatives include investments in small and medium enterprise funds supporting domestic businesses across multiple sectors. The fund committed 25 million cedis to the Injaro Ghana Venture Capital Fund, signaling interest in catalyzing entrepreneurship beyond traditional mining activities. MIIF also launched the Women from Mining Communities Scholarship Scheme, which supports female students pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programmes. Over 90 young women from the University of Mines and Technology in Tarkwa have already benefited from the initiative.
MIIF plans to expand the scholarship scheme to universities in the middle belt and northern Ghana in 2026, subject to support from corporate Ghana. Nelson noted that the goal is to ensure that women from mining communities are not left behind in Ghana’s mineral driven transformation. She commended corporate Ghana for its support and urged companies to continue partnering with MIIF to empower more women in the mining space as part of their corporate social responsibility initiatives.
The surge in mining revenues has supported Ghana’s economic recovery from what government officials described as the country’s worst economic crisis in a generation. The strong performance of gold prices has increased Ghana’s export revenue and strengthened the cedi currency, which appreciated approximately 35 percent against the US dollar in 2025.
Producing member companies repatriated 70.8 percent of mineral earnings in 2024, returning 4.99 billion dollars to the country, according to Chamber of Mines data. Mining firms sold 906.3 million dollars to the Bank of Ghana under the Mandatory Surrender Requirement framework in 2024, compared favorably with 784 million dollars in 2023. Foreign exchange repatriation via commercial banks rose 22.2 percent to 3.3 billion dollars in 2024 from 2.7 billion dollars in 2023, driven by liquidity needs.
MIIF says the improved performance reinforces the importance of ongoing reforms and effective oversight as the fund seeks to maximize returns from Ghana’s mineral resources while maintaining transparency, accountability, and long term sustainability. The fund’s mandate includes investing responsibly and transparently to generate prosperity for Ghanaians, including current citizens and future generations, with a core focus on prudent investments to drive long term value creation.
Looking ahead to 2026, Nelson emphasized that MIIF would continue collaborating with stakeholders to strengthen institutional capacity, improve governance structures, and enhance operational efficiency. The fund aims to align its operations with international best practices while ensuring that Ghana’s mineral wealth translates into tangible benefits for the population.
