A University of Ghana geoscientist has thrown his weight behind Ghana’s newly enacted sliding-scale mineral royalty regime, arguing that the country must capitalise on record gold prices while market conditions remain favourable.
Prof. Prince Ofori Amponsah, an Associate Professor in the Department of Earth Science at the University of Ghana, said the Minerals and Mining Royalty Regulations, 2025, which became law on March 9, 2026, reflects a pragmatic response to a volatile global commodities market. The legislation establishes a price-linked royalty structure that adjusts state earnings upward as commodity prices rise, replacing the flat five percent rate that had been in place since 2010.
“We have to be inward-looking and take what we can,” Prof. Amponsah said. “Commodity prices are not static. They move with time. If the bubble bursts and we fail to benefit, then we were not smart enough to cash in.”
Gold was trading above US$4,600 per ounce as of late March 2026, placing Ghana’s royalty rate at the upper end of the new band. The framework sets rates between five percent and 12 percent depending on gold price movements, and is designed to share risks and rewards more equitably between the state and investors.
Prof. Amponsah argued that much of the current surge in mining profits has been driven by external market dynamics rather than operational improvements by mining companies. “When prices rise sharply, the windfall has little to do with the company itself,” he said. “It is driven by external factors. The country must therefore position itself to benefit from that upside.”
He also pointed to a secondary benefit of elevated prices: the opening of previously uneconomical deposits. “Pits that would not have been mined are now being opened because the price window has widened,” he said. On concerns about profitability, the geologist was direct. “Investors will always complain. But they are not losing. Their margins have increased. What they earn today still exceeds what they initially projected.”
He added that the sliding-scale mechanism is inherently protective for companies during downturns, with royalties automatically adjusting downward when prices fall.
The new regime has not been without opposition. The Minority in Parliament has warned it could lead to the loss of close to one million jobs if new investment is deterred. The Ghana Chamber of Mines (GCM) has also raised concerns, and has called for a narrower royalty band with wider price thresholds between rate categories to prevent operators from being pushed into higher brackets too quickly.
As a partial offset, Parliament passed the Growth and Sustainability Levy (GSL) Amendment Bill, 2026 on March 14, reducing the levy on mining company profits from three percent to one percent. Critics, including the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), have questioned the logic of raising royalties while simultaneously cutting the GSL, describing the net effect as limited.
For Prof. Amponsah, the principle at stake is straightforward. “Windfalls are not permanent,” he said. “When the opportunity comes, the country must be ready to benefit.”
