Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2672 actions· ✨ 89 recent

Ghana's Parliament passed the Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Bill on March 13–14, 2026, reducing the GSL rate on mining companies' gross production from 3% to 1%; the Act received Presidential assent on March 31, 2026. The amendment is a deliberate companion offset to the Minerals and Mining (Royalty) Regulations, 2025, which replaced the prior flat royalty with a sliding-scale framework (5–12% indexed to gold price) effective March 2026. Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson framed the GSL cut as a strategic compromise to maintain investment competitiveness while the higher royalty regime captures the upside from gold prices above $4,000/oz; the net government-take trajectory is still upward at high gold prices, but mining companies receive partial relief on the levy side.

At the Maiden Mining Local Content Summit held in Takoradi on 18 February 2026, Minerals Commission CEO Isaac Tandoh announced the revocation of more than 300 small-scale mining licences held fraudulently or left dormant, alongside a comprehensive regulatory reset covering all segments of Ghana's mining sector. The reform package includes the repeal of L.I. 2462 (which had permitted mining in forest reserves), introduction of a new medium-scale licensing tier, a sliding-scale gold royalty regime designed to increase state capture during high-price periods, and mandatory local-content thresholds across procurement, employment, and equity participation. Surface-mining operations will be required to use fully Ghanaian-owned contractors; underground-mining contracts must carry at least 50% Ghanaian ownership. The reforms structurally affect large-scale operators including Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti, Zijin Mining, and Atlantic Lithium.