MIIF To Rake In $6 Billion In Mineral Royalties In 10 Years

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Minerals and Income Investment Fund (MIIF), Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, has disclosed the Fund is anticipated to reap about $6 billion dollars in royalties in the next 10 years.

The figure, represents moderate version of initial $10 billion projection as a result of some significant initiatives and investments being made.

Speaking at the second stakeholders’ forum on Tuesday, October 15, in Accra, Mr Koranteng, said the Fund, established by an act of Parliament in 2018, is rapidly expanding its royalty base.

He attributed the high expectation to discovery of more minerals and introduction of technologies to expand the Fund’s base in terms of payment of royalties.

“We are working on reevaluation of our assets including the government free carried interest and of course the envelope is up about $1.5 billion if not more.

And looking at that growth and the fact that we are expanding the royalties, and we are seeing more moneys come into play, we are seeing more minerals coming into play especially the critical mineral side, the graphite exploration program and lithium coming into play and all that,” he said.

According to him, “We are also using technologies to expand our royalty base so looking at that and the fact that we have been able to grow our royalties, on these angles, we anticipate that within 10 years, we should have more than $6 billion. In house, even though we have announced $6billion, we are actually going with $10 billion”.

He stresses how this expectation would be met in a decade by “using technologies to expand our royalties net”.

Collaboration

Mr Koranteng, said very critical and strategic institutions, such as the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) and the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), are being roped in to make sure royalties that is due the Ghanaian people are accurately accounted for, to ensure the needed investments to cushion the present and future generation.

“We have got a framework arrangement with the Ghana Revenue Authority, with GSA, with EOCO to make sure that companies that are supposed to pay royalties pay royalties. That is part of the way we are expanding royalties net”.

Aside the partnership with allied institutions, Mr Koranteng, said they are also doing more internally with respect to technology. This technology, he said, will help them monitor the activities and figures of the miners.

“We are also deploying technology we have in our offices. A technology that has an overview through google and other systems that we have put together, an overview that almost in real time of the movement of quarries, of gold, be able to get some of these production figures of some of these gold mines etcetera.

So, through that, we are expanding that royalty net and getting some of these royalties to play. Secondly, is our investments; we are working on viable investments,” he stated.

Bright Future

Touching on some initiatives being embarked on, Mr Koranteng, said the future looks bright when it comes to minerals taking into consideration their investments in these strategic entities.

He outlined some of the key investments the Fund had made since its inception in 2018, saying, MIIF has some $40 Million investment in Asante Gold Corporation, a gold exploration and production company, trading on the Canadian, Frankfurt and Ghana stock exchanges with ownership of the Bibiani, Chirano (formerly Kinross) and the yet to produce Kubi mine.

Additionally, the Fund, has also concluded a GH₵25-million-cedi investment in the Injaro Venture Capital Trust Fund, investing $32.9 Million in lithium underpinned by Government of Ghana’s critical minerals policy.

In that agreement alone, the CEO of MIIF, said the Fund invested about US$ 5 Million in the holding company Atlantic Lithium while investing $27.9 Million in Atlantic Lithium local assets with Barari BV for the prolific Ewoyaa project which will start production by 2025, plus 7 other tenements in the Central region.

He said MIIF, has also closed a GH₵300 million investment in the Ada Songhor salt project, the injection of $950 Million dollars into the Ghanaian economy within 11 months as at September and supported the ‘Gold for Oil’ program by providing up to US$626 Million to BDCs between September 2023 and August 2024.

According to the CEO, the Fund is developing a Physical Gold-Linked Exchange Traded Fund (MIIF Gold ETF) to be listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) adding MIIF and the University of Mines and Technology (UMAT) are collaborating on the use of an advanced technology to clear river bodies polluted by galamsey.

“I am pleased to announce ladies and gentlemen that our initial test results or pilot has recorded significant success. You might have seen this in the newspapers today”, he indicated.

To bridge the gender gap in the mining sector, in September established the MIIF Scholarship program for women at University for Mines and Technology (UMAT). The progranne is targeted at only women or girls from needy families in the mining communities.

Another laudable initiative of the Fund, is the move to establish a Mineral Sovereign World Fund.

According to Mr Koranteng, management is taking time to make this happen to enable the Fund to be independent off government to achieve its mandate.

“We’ve had very good support from the Ministry of Finance and the government so far but it is important that we establish, a system where we pay a dividend to the government”.

So far, he said the support from the sector ministry which is Finance and that of government has been commendable.

He said, they are doing everything within their remit to come up with best practice as they do not want a situation where government will come into this fund and take what it desires.

He indicated that, all they are seeking to do is to strictly pay dividend to government as and when it is time to do so.

“We trying to seek is to set up or establish a world class Mineral Sovereign World Fund. Any sovereign world fund that is going to achieve on it mandate has to be independent. We’ve had very good support from the Ministry of Finance and the government so far but it is important that we establish a system where we pay a dividend to the government.

We can have a situation where government can come in for want of a better word take funds from your account. So we are working on a dividend pay up policy that governs how dividend is paid up to government that also cements the independence of MIIF and also changes negative biases that foreign investors may have of the Fund and about Ghana” Mr Koranteng explained.

Source: Anchorghana.com