Ghana’s bauxite bottleneck: President Mahama courts investors for missing alumina refinery

Ghana is seeking investors to establish an alumina refinery, aiming to close a gap in its bauxite-to-aluminium production chain as the country prepares to phase out raw mineral ore exports by 2030. President John Dramani Mahama has identified the absence of domestic alumina refining as a key obstacle to retaining more value from the country’s mineral resources.

Speaking during a panel discussion at the 2026 Financial Times Africa Summit on October 21, Mahama said Ghana could no longer rely on exporting raw materials while importing finished products. The government wants more processing to take place locally, creating jobs and expanding industrial activity.

“We cannot continue forever to be the exporter of raw materials to the rest of the world and consumers of finished products,” Mahama said. “We must bring part of that processing and value addition into Africa to create jobs for our young people,” he added.

The President said the 2030 deadline for ending raw mineral ore exports would be implemented in phases, depending on the mineral concerned and the investment needed to establish processing facilities.

Alumina refinery seen as missing link

Mahama pointed to Ghana’s bauxite and aluminium industry as an example of the processing gap the government wants to address. The country exports raw bauxite, imports alumina and operates a smelter that converts alumina into aluminium for export, but it does not have an alumina refinery.

“The only missing link is that we don't have an alumina refinery,” Mahama said, inviting investors to partner with Ghana to establish the facility and capture more value within the aluminium industry.

A domestic refinery would address the missing processing stage identified by the President, although the source does not indicate that a project has been approved or that an investor has committed to building one.

The proposed investment forms part of a wider effort to develop local industries around Ghana’s natural resources rather than to depend primarily on unprocessed commodity exports.

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Cocoa and gold also targeted for value addition

The government’s ambitions extend beyond bauxite. Mahama said Ghana intends to increase domestic processing of cocoa beans, which have traditionally been exported for processing elsewhere.

“I've come out with a policy that we're going to start with at least 50% of our cocoa beans to be processed locally,” he said. “And so 50% of any year's production is only what will be available on the international market.”

Mahama also identified jewellery manufacturing for export as an opportunity to increase domestic value addition in the gold industry.

Together, the proposed alumina refinery, expanded cocoa processing and downstream jewellery production reflect the government’s broader objective of building industries that generate more local economic activity and employment, particularly for young people.

Ghana seeks international investment

Mahama also addressed concerns about investment security and property rights, urging international businesses not to overlook opportunities in Africa because of reservations about operating on the continent.

“Well, it's to their own disadvantage if you are still skittish about Africa,” he said, adding that Ghana welcomes investors from different parts of the world.

He said the country’s approach was not about choosing between competing international partners but about attracting investments that provide fair returns to both businesses and Ghana.

“We are friends to all and enemies to none,” Mahama mentioned, reaffirming Ghana’s non-alignment policy and its openness to international investors.

The challenge now is turning the government’s value-addition ambitions into investment and processing capacity ahead of the 2030 target.

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