Buah presses China for mineral processing and skills deals at Tianjin mining conference

Pinned summary · as of 04:20

Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the minister who oversees Ghana's lands and natural resources, used the China Mining Conference in Tianjin, now in its 28th year, to ask for a wider partnership with China. He wants Chinese firms to help refine minerals inside Ghana, share technology, train workers and build infrastructure, instead of only buying ore. A former head of the Bureau of National Intelligence has since argued that Ghana lacks the groundwork it needs before negotiating.

What we know

• Mr Buah addressed the 28th China Mining Conference and Exhibition, held in Tianjin, China, in September 2026.
• The minister asked China to deepen its cooperation with Ghana by working together on infrastructure, skills, technology transfer and the processing of minerals.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Onua Online reported that Mr Buah spoke for President John Dramani Mahama and the government at a ministerial forum on international mining cooperation, and that the meeting was themed 'Win-Win Cooperation, Green and Intelligent'. This has not been confirmed by other reports.
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  According to Onua Online, Mr Buah said Ghana wants its minerals to feed industry, jobs and local expertise rather than leave as raw exports. He was quoted as saying: "The next chapter of mining must be measured not simply by what we take from the ground, but by what we leave above it". No other report carries these remarks.
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  Onua Online said the minister listed iron ore for domestic steel, critical minerals, gold refining and an integrated aluminium industry as priorities. It also said he described a review of mining regulation, moves to formalise small-scale mining, and work to modernise the geological database and gold traceability. These points have not been corroborated elsewhere.
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  Onua Online reported that Mr Buah cited the anti-illegal mining secretariat (NAIMOS) and a cooperative mining programme, asked for technical exchanges and training for Ghanaian engineers, geologists and regulators, and sought joint work on land reclamation and tailings. It added that he named Zijin Mining, Shandong Gold and Chifeng Gold Group as examples of what cooperation can achieve. Only this publication has reported these details.
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  Onua Online said Ghana's ambassador to China, Kojo Bonsu, told investors in Tianjin on Friday, 11 September that government policy now favours local processing, such as turning bauxite into alumina, and that Ghana wants partnerships on fair terms with technology transfer and local content. No second report has confirmed his remarks.
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  Citi Newsroom placed the minister's call for deeper cooperation on 10 September and said three Chinese industry bodies attended the event: the China Minerals Resources Group, the petroleum and chemical industry federation, and the non-ferrous metals association. Neither the date nor the attendance has been confirmed by other reports.
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  Nana Attobrah Quaicoe, a security analyst who once headed the Bureau of National Intelligence, told Citi Newsroom that serious negotiations will now follow the announcement. He argued that, judging by what is public, Ghana has no published study of its options for processing minerals, no written list of priorities and no permanent analysis team serving the Presidency, the Cabinet Office or the lands ministry. This is his opinion, and the reports contain no response from government.
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  Mr Quaicoe further claimed that Chinese agencies have already studied the Ghanaian negotiators, covering their political limits and likely fall-back positions, while Ghana has done no comparable homework. He said Chinese planning looks decades ahead but Ghanaian planning follows election or ministerial cycles, and warned that the time to prepare is before talks conclude. These are one analyst's arguments and have not been confirmed by other reports.

Why it matters for Ghana

Gold, bauxite and iron ore are among the resources Ghana could process at home rather than ship out raw, and where that work happens decides where jobs and skills develop for young people in mining areas such as the Western and Ashanti regions. The terms Ghana secures in any deal with Chinese firms will shape what communities and the national budget receive. The analyst's warning adds a further test: whether officials are well prepared before negotiations start.