As mining in Nigeria continues without any supervising agency
At a time artisanal gold mining in Northern Nigeria is powered by rising banditry, kidnappings and killings especially in states like Zamfara and Kaduna, latest report by the World Bank has named Ghana as the largest gold producer in Africa.
With the new data, Ghana has taken over from South Africa as Africa’s leaders in gold exports the same way Angola is pushing away Nigeria from oil exports.
World Bank report revealed that in 2018, Ghana exported 158 tonnes of gold which is about 15 per cent increase over the previous year.
The feat beats South Africa which only produced 139.3 tonnes within the period under review even data on Nigeria remained scanty due to lack of official transparency.
World Bank noted that mining firms operating in Ghana include Newmont Mining Corporation, Gold Fields, Anglogold Ashanti and Asanko Gold.
The report also revealed that due to associated environmental degradation arising destructive artisanal mining and logging practices in Ghana, rural communities in four regions are to benefit from a scale-up of the Ghana Forest Investment Program with the approval of additional financing largesse of $19.39 million to the programme.
Recall that the World Bank had in February 2015 approved an amount of $29.5 million for the project and it is expected to close in June 2020. This latest round of financing brings the total to $49 million.
