Mike Allen Hammah, outgoing Minister for Lands and Natural Resources has observed that even though the country produces over 3.8 million ounces of gold per annum, the country has not been able to add value to the product. “In spite of this level of production, there are only small scale refineries which refine gold produced by small scale miners in the country. Bullion from large scale production continues to be exported for final refining outside the country,” the Minister remarked. Mr Mike Hammah was speaking at the 19th Investing in African Mining Indaba Conference in Cape Town in South Africa last week. The conference, which is held annually, is the biggest mining event in Africa and the world, and over 7,000 delegates representing international organisations from 100 countries, as well as government delegations, attended the event. Mr Hammah noted that the establishment of a major gold refining facility in Ghana will also serve other gold producing countries within the sub-region. He therefore called on investors with the technical know-how and financial capacity to consider the project. Touching on the salt industry, the Minister said Ghana possesses one of the largest proven renewable solar salt production potential along the entire West African coastline stretching over a distance of over 500km. He said effective exploitation of the industry would enable the country to supply the salt needs of the entire sub-region. He announced that government has completed a study to identify and demarcate areas that will be suitable for salt winning, which would soon be made available to investors. “Indeed Ghana has the requisite mining environment that serious investors need. This includes: availability of abundant mineral resources with basic geoscientific data, political stability, attractive investment framework, improved institutional framework to reduce corruption, eliminate discretion & enforce the rule of law and transparency in the management of our mineral resources.”