Ghana has overtaken South Africa as the top producer of gold in Africa, the latest statistics from the Ghana Chamber of Mines have confirmed.

According to the Chamber, the country’s gold output increased from 2.8 million ounces in 2021 to 3.7 million ounces in 2022 as a result of concurrent growth in the output of both large and small-scale sectors.

This represents a 32 percent increase in production in the gold sub-sector.

Ghana lost its position as Africa’s leading gold producer to South Africa as total production from large and small-scale producers declined from 4 million ounces in 2020 to 2.8 million.

Addressing the 95th Annual General Meeting of the Ghana Chamber of Mines in Accra on Friday, June 9, 2023, the president of the Chamber, Joshua Mortoti said the figure also means the large-scale gold sub-sector recorded its highest output in the country’s history in 2022.

“The country’s gold output thankfully, increased from 2.8 million ounces in 2021 to 3.7 million ounces in 2022 due to concurrent growth in the output of both large and small-scale sectors. This translates into a 32 percent increase in production in the gold sub-sector. The large-scale gold sub-sector recorded its highest output in the country’s history in 2022,” Mortoti noted.

“Notably, a combination of fresh output and expansion of production at existing large-scale mines drove the large-scale sector’s contribution to national gold output from 2.7 million ounces in 2021 to 3.1 million ounces in 2022, representing an increment of 13 percent,” Mortoti said.

Diamond exports also recorded increased volumes.

It increased from 54,174 carats in 2021 to 82,252 carats in 2022. On a year-on-year basis, the volume of diamond exports improved by 52 percent.

The output of manganese fell from 3.3 million tonnes in 2021 to 3.2 million tonnes in 2022. In the same manner, the production of bauxite reduced from 0.839 million tonnes in 2021 to 0.773 million tonnes in 2022.