MIIF Hits Historic GH₵5.43 Billion In Mineral Royalties

The Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) has recorded a historic performance in mineral royalty collections for the 2025 financial year, reaching a total of GH₵5.43 billion.

The figure represents a 10.8 percent increase over the GH₵4.90 billion recorded in 2024, marking the highest royalty collection since the establishment of the Fund.

In a statement issued by the Fund said, the strong performance reflected both improved operational efficiency and favourable global market conditions.

It explained that the growth in royalty receipts was supported by a number of strategic initiatives, including the implementation of nationwide monitoring protocols across mining operations to ensure strict compliance with royalty payment obligations.

The statement said the proactive enforcement measures helped reduce payment delays while improving overall efficiency in royalty collection.

It also noted that sustained high international gold prices throughout 2025 played a significant role in boosting the value of royalties from gold mining operations.

Data from the Fund showed that large-scale gold mines remained the backbone of Ghana’s mineral revenue base.

Royalty receipts from the segment rose to GH₵5.1 billion in 2025, up from GH₵4.7 billion in 2024, representing an increase of nearly GH₵394 million.

According to the statement, the growth reflected improved monitoring by MIIF as well as collaboration with key stakeholders such as the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Minerals Commission.

The performance is also supported by expanded production levels across the sector, including output from the Newmont Ahafo North Mine and the Cardinal Namdini project.

Beyond gold, the manganese subsector also recorded notable growth during the year.

Royalty receipts from manganese increased to GH₵212 million in 2025, compared to GH₵186 million in 2024, representing growth of about 14.4 percent.

The increase is attributed largely to higher production volumes and improved compliance with royalty payment obligations within the subsector.

However, other minerals such as granite, limestone, sand and salt contributed only about one per cent to total royalty receipts and fell slightly below the annual target.

The statement attributed the underperformance to several challenges, including competitive pricing pressures across quarry operations which compressed profit margins and reduced royalty accruals.

Other factors included restricted access to Sahelian markets, which serve as key export destinations for Ghanaian salt, a decline in salt prices per bag, increased importation of salt from other countries and unfavourable weather conditions during the year under review.

Despite these challenges, the Fund noted that the 2025 performance highlighted the resilience of Ghana’s mineral revenue base, which continues to be driven largely by gold while increasingly supported by improved manganese output.

Chief Executive Officer of MIIF, Mrs Justina Nelson, described the performance as a major milestone for the Fund.

She said the achievement is particularly significant because it marked the first time since the Fund’s establishment that mineral royalty inflows had exceeded the GH₵5 billion threshold.

Mrs Nelson noted that the strong performance is recorded despite economic challenges and currency fluctuations during the year.

She explained that at the beginning of 2025 the US dollar traded at about GH₵17, which was the rate used for projections on large-scale gold royalties.

However, as the year progressed, the Ghana cedi appreciated to around GH₵12 to the dollar.

Despite the stronger cedi, the Fund still recorded GH₵5.43 billion in royalties in 2025, compared to GH₵4.90 billion in 2024 when the exchange rate averaged around GH₵17 to the dollar.

Mrs Nelson said the Fund would continue to work closely with state institutions such as the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Minerals Commission to strengthen compliance with royalty obligations across the mining sector.

She added that MIIF would intensify internal monitoring systems, expand field supervision and support higher production levels within the extractive sector to improve royalty collections in the coming years.

Mrs Nelson reaffirmed the Fund’s commitment to its mandate of managing and investing Ghana’s mineral royalties to ensure that the country’s natural resource wealth benefits both present and future generations.