TaxLawGHby MSL Business School
MSL Business SchoolGhana extractives tax guide
Ghana Mining Tax
A controlled 2026 guide to mineral royalties, mining income tax, the Growth and Sustainability Levy, capital allowances, ring-fencing, state participation and the compliance evidence behind each figure.
Published and prepared by MSL Business School through TaxLawGH, its tax and fiscal policy education platform.
MSL Business School Ghana mining tax at a glance
The controlling answer
Ghana does not tax a mine with one headline rate.
A mining fiscal model must layer the 35% income tax, the mineral-specific royalty, the 1% Growth and Sustainability Levy where applicable, state participation, fees and transaction taxes—and then test any stabilised development agreement.
Current-law control: L.I. 2517 now provides a price-linked 5%–12% royalty framework for gold. A subsisting development or stability agreement can preserve different fiscal terms for the protected period, so the licence and agreement file must be checked before a rate is applied.
Fiscal stack
Build the liability in layers and keep each tax base separate.
| Fiscal component | Headline position | Tax base or control |
|---|---|---|
| Mining income tax | 35% | Chargeable income of each separate mineral operation after mining-specific adjustments. |
| Gold mineral royalty | 5%–12% | Rate follows the applicable international gold-price band under L.I. 2517; protected agreements may differ. |
| Lithium spodumene | 5%–12% | Four price bands tied to the reference price per tonne. |
| Diamond, bauxite, manganese, salt, industrial mineral, limestone and iron ore | 5% | Flat royalty under the gazetted L.I. 2517 schedule, subject to a protected agreement. |
| Growth and Sustainability Levy | 1% | Gross production for the relevant mining category, without reducing the base by operating costs. |
| Government interest | 10% minimum | Free carried interest under Act 703; an agreement or state transaction may provide more. |
| Annual mineral-right and ground fees | Prescribed amounts | Licence type, area, stage and current fee instruments determine the amount. |
A rate is not a complete tax computation. Royalty, GSL and income tax use different statutory bases and may apply simultaneously.
Mineral royalties
The gazetted schedule covers large- and small-scale gold, lithium and seven flat-rate mineral categories.
The Minerals and Mining (Royalties) Regulations, 2025 (L.I. 2517) came into force on 10 March 2026. Non-small-scale gold uses eight price bands, small-scale gold has a separate 2% rate, lithium spodumene uses four price bands, and the seven named other-mineral categories remain at a flat 5%.
Gold royalty schedule
| Applicable gold reference-price band | Royalty rate |
|---|---|
| US$1,900 per ounce or below | 5% |
| Above US$1,900 up to US$2,000 per ounce | 6% |
| Above US$2,000 up to US$2,500 per ounce | 7% |
| Above US$2,500 up to US$3,000 per ounce | 8% |
| Above US$3,000 up to US$3,500 per ounce | 9% |
| Above US$3,500 up to US$4,000 per ounce | 10% |
| Above US$4,000 up to US$4,500 per ounce | 11% |
| Above US$4,500 per ounce | 12% |
This eight-band table is expressly for non-small-scale gold mining operations. Gold is valued by reference to the weekly average London PM Fix price published through the London Bullion Market Association framework. The instrument's reference period and valuation rule—not a spot price seen at an arbitrary time—control the band.
Small-scale gold royalty
| Operation | Royalty rate | Price band |
|---|---|---|
| Gold — small-scale mining operation | 2% | No price band in the L.I. 2517 Schedule. |
The 2% Schedule rate does not displace licensing, GoldBod, purchasing, traceability, export or other legal controls applicable to small-scale gold.
Lithium spodumene royalty schedule
| Applicable spodumene reference-price band | Royalty rate |
|---|---|
| US$1,500 per tonne or below | 5% |
| Above US$1,500 up to US$2,500 per tonne | 7% |
| Above US$2,500 up to US$3,000 per tonne | 10% |
| Above US$3,000 per tonne | 12% |
The lithium schedule is stated for spodumene pricing per tonne. Product grade, sale terms and the legally prescribed arm's-length benchmark must be aligned before selecting a band.
Flat-rate mineral schedule
| Mineral | Royalty rate | Price band |
|---|---|---|
| Diamond | 5% | Flat rate |
| Bauxite | 5% | Flat rate |
| Manganese | 5% | Flat rate |
| Salt | 5% | Flat rate |
| Industrial mineral | 5% | Flat rate |
| Limestone | 5% | Flat rate |
| Iron ore | 5% | Flat rate |
Royalty schedule lookup
Select the mineral and enter the applicable statutory reference price. This identifies the published schedule rate; it is not a substitute for the instrument, valuation evidence or a protected agreement.
Gold uses the eight statutory price bands shown above.
Agreement and valuation control: A subsisting development or stability agreement may preserve another rate. The reference price, valuation period, mineral product and gross-revenue base must be supported with the exact statutory and agreement evidence.
Income tax and ring-fencing
Each separate mineral operation must stand on its own tax record.
Income from mineral operations is taxed at 35%. The Income Tax Act treats each mineral operation relating to a separate mineral right as a separate activity. Income, deductions and losses are therefore ring-fenced: a cost or loss from one operation cannot automatically shelter income from another.
Maintain a tax ledger for each mineral right or operation required by the Act, including revenue, operating cost, capital expenditure, financing and loss schedules.
Use a documented, supportable allocation method. A head-office charge does not become deductible merely because it was booked to the mine.
Test management, technical, financing, offtake and procurement arrangements under Ghana's arm's-length and transfer-pricing rules.
Asset sales, mineral-right interests, indirect ownership changes and farm-in or restructuring transactions require separate income-tax and approval analysis.
What enters the mining tax computation
| Category | Examples under Act 896's special mineral-operation rules |
|---|---|
| Income inclusions | Income from disposing of minerals; insurance compensation for lost or destroyed minerals; amounts from selling information about the operation or mineral reserves; gains from disposing of or assigning an interest; a surplus from an approved rehabilitation fund; and other incidental mineral-operation revenue. |
| Potential deductions | Ground rent and royalties; capital allowances; contributions to and other expenses for an approved rehabilitation fund; reclamation and closure expenditure; and other expenditure satisfying the mineral-operation deduction rules. |
| Expressly controlled or disallowed | Research and development expenditure under the special rule; amounts not wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in acquiring or improving a valuable asset used in the operation; non-arm's-length expenditure; bonus payments; and expenditure arising from breach of a mineral agreement. |
The gross-production base is not the income-tax base: Mineral royalty and the GSL begin with their own gross-revenue or gross-production bases. Mining income tax begins with statutory mineral-operation income and then applies permitted deductions, capital allowances and ring-fenced losses.
Five-percent ownership-change control: Act 896 can deem a disposal and reacquisition where the underlying ownership of an entity holding a mineral right changes by 5% or more. The statutory consideration is the amount received, receivable or market value, whichever is higher.
Capital allowances and losses
Mining expenditure follows special pools, timing rules and operation-level limits.
| Item | Headline treatment | Control point |
|---|---|---|
| Mining capital allowance | 20% straight line | Generally five equal annual allowances for qualifying mining assets, subject to use and pool rules. |
| Pre-production expenditure | Capitalised or relieved under the mining rules | Classify exploration, development, infrastructure and operating expenditure from source documents. |
| Approved rehabilitation fund | Fund exempt; qualifying contributions and expenses deductible | Keep approval, contribution, eligible-use and expenditure evidence. Any surplus from the approved fund enters mineral-operation income. |
| Reclamation and closure | Potentially deductible | Reconcile the statutory obligation, approved rehabilitation plan, fund movements and the expenditure actually incurred. |
| Disposal proceeds | Tax adjustment required | Reconcile consideration against the relevant pool and include statutory income where required. |
| Loss carry-forward | 5 years | Track by year and by separate mineral operation; expiry and continuity rules matter. |
Mining rehabilitation is the functional counterpart of petroleum decommissioning. Act 896 gives it its own fund, deduction and surplus rules; it should not be treated as an ordinary undifferentiated provision in the tax computation.
Accounting depreciation is not the tax deduction. Keep the tax capital-allowance register separate and reconcile it annually to the fixed-asset register and each ring-fenced operation.
Growth and Sustainability Levy
Gold mining returned from 3% to 1% of gross production in 2026.
Act 1131 increased the gold-mining rate to 3% and extended the levy through the 2028 year of assessment, while maintaining 1% for other mining and upstream oil and gas. Following the new sliding-scale royalty, the Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Act, 2026 reduced the gold-mining rate back to 1%; presidential assent was reported on 31 March 2026.
Act-number discipline: The 2026 amendment is identified here by its official title and assent date. This page does not assign an Act number until that number is confirmed from the Gazette or an official legislation repository.
State participation and sector fees
Tax is only one part of the economic return to the Republic.
Act 703 provides the Republic with a 10% free carried interest in mineral operations, under which the State is not required to contribute to capital. The governing documents may provide additional participation. Mineral-right fees, ground rent and regulatory charges are separately payable at current prescribed amounts.
Small-scale gold: The Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140) created a separate statutory channel for buying, assaying, selling and exporting gold and other precious minerals from small-scale mining. Do not apply a large-scale mine workflow to a small-scale gold transaction without checking GoldBod requirements.
Other tax touchpoints
A complete mine file also controls payroll, contractors, imports, VAT and cross-border payments.
| Area | What to test | TaxLawGH guide |
|---|---|---|
| Contractor withholding | Nature of supply, residence, mineral or natural-resource payment, certificate and remittance deadline. | Withholding tax |
| VAT and levies | Registration, taxable and exempt supplies, import VAT, input evidence and sector-specific relief. | VAT |
| Imported plant and consumables | HS classification, customs value, permits and any approved exemption or mining list. | Customs & import duties |
| Employees and expatriates | PAYE, benefits, tax residence, secondments, immigration and social-security obligations. | PAYE |
| Related-party financing and offtake | Arm's-length pricing, interest limitation/thin capitalisation, documentation and currency terms. | Transfer pricing |
MSL Business School mining tax control file
The return should be reproducible from licence to ledger to production statement.
- 01Map the legal perimeter
Mineral right, company, operation, development or stability agreement, commencement date and protected fiscal terms.
- 02Reconcile production and sales
Mine and plant records, assays, stock movements, refinery or buyer statements, sales invoices, price and exchange-rate evidence.
- 03Select the royalty rate
Commodity, published reference price, L.I. 2517 band, measurement period and agreement override analysis.
- 04Maintain ring-fenced ledgers
Allocate revenue, cost, capital allowance, rehabilitation-fund movements, financing and losses to the correct separate mineral operation.
- 05Close every secondary tax
GSL, WHT, VAT, PAYE, customs, transfer pricing, fees, state-interest distributions and statutory deadlines.
Frequently asked questions
Ghana mining tax questions
What is the corporate income tax rate for mining in Ghana?
The headline rate is 35% of chargeable income from the mineral operation. It is not 35% of gross production, and a protected development agreement may require a separate review.
What is Ghana's gold royalty rate in 2026?
L.I. 2517 provides a price-linked scale from 5% to 12%. The exact rate depends on the applicable international gold-price band and any subsisting protected agreement.
What is Ghana's lithium royalty schedule?
For lithium spodumene, the published bands are 5% up to US$1,500 per tonne, 7% above US$1,500 up to US$2,500, 10% above US$2,500 up to US$3,000, and 12% above US$3,000, subject to the prescribed valuation basis and any protected agreement.
What is the royalty rate for small-scale gold mining?
The gazetted L.I. 2517 Schedule states a 2% royalty for gold from small-scale mining operations. The separate eight-band gold table applies to non-small-scale operations.
Which minerals retain a flat 5% royalty?
The gazetted L.I. 2517 Schedule identifies diamond, bauxite, manganese, salt, industrial mineral, limestone and iron ore at a flat 5%, subject to any legally protected agreement terms.
Is Ghana's mining royalty still a flat 5%?
Not generally for gold under the 2026 regime. The public GRA royalty page still describes the former flat 5% position, but L.I. 2517 introduced the current sliding scale.
What is the mining GSL rate?
The current rate is 1% of gross production for the relevant mining categories. Gold mining moved from 1% to 3% under Act 1131 and returned to 1% under the 2026 amendment.
Can one mine's loss reduce another mine's income?
Not automatically. Ghana's mining rules ring-fence separate mineral operations, so deductions and losses must be tracked and used within the operation permitted by the Act.
What capital allowance applies to mining assets?
Qualifying mining capital expenditure is generally relieved at 20% straight line over five years, subject to the special pool, use, timing and disposal rules.
How does Act 896 treat an approved mining rehabilitation fund?
The approved rehabilitation fund is exempt from tax. Contributions and other qualifying expenses for the approved fund, together with reclamation and closure expenditure, enter the mineral-operation deduction analysis; any surplus from the approved fund is included in mineral-operation income.
Can a change in ownership of a mining company trigger tax?
Yes. Act 896 can deem a disposal and reacquisition where the underlying ownership of an entity holding a mineral right changes by 5% or more. Transaction consideration and market value must therefore be tested even where the mineral right itself is not directly sold.
Has Ghana replaced the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006?
No, not as at this page's 20 July 2026 verification date. Cabinet endorsed a proposed overhaul and sent a bill to Parliament, but a proposal is not current law until enacted and brought into force.
MSL Business School official source map
Primary authority and controlled current-law sources
- Income Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896), as amendedSpecial rules for mineral-operation income and deductions, approved rehabilitation funds, separate operations, capital allowances, losses and transactions.
- Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), as amendedMineral rights, royalties, state interest, stability and development agreements and sector administration.
- Minerals and Mining (Royalties) Regulations, 2025 (L.I. 2517) — Gazette copyGazetted Schedule for non-small-scale gold, small-scale gold, lithium spodumene and seven other-mineral categories. Hosted by GhTaxClub.
- GRA mineral-operations tax guideOfficial administrative summary of mineral-operation income, deductions, losses, rehabilitation, ownership changes and royalty. Its flat-rate royalty reference must be read with the later L.I. 2517.
- Minerals Commission fiscal regimeOfficial sector overview of income tax, capital allowance, losses, carried interest and related fiscal components.
- Ministry of Lands current-law updateOfficial confirmation of L.I. 2517 and that the wider Act 703 overhaul remains a bill sent to Parliament.
- GNA mineral coverage recordContemporary public record of the 5%–12% gold and lithium framework; the gazetted L.I. 2517 Schedule controls every category and boundary used above.
- Published royalty and valuation summarySecondary explanatory source. Any conflict with the Gazette is resolved in favour of the gazetted L.I. 2517 Schedule.
- 2026 GSL amendment assent recordRecords presidential assent and the reduction of the mining levy to 1% after introduction of sliding-scale royalties.
Legislation watch—not current law: Cabinet has endorsed a bill to overhaul Act 703 and forwarded it to Parliament. This guide will change only when an enacted law, commencement rule or other legally operative instrument requires it.
Institutional publisher
TaxLawGH is MSL Business School's Ghana tax education platform.
This guide forms part of MSL Business School's public tax and fiscal policy education work. MSL publishes TaxLawGH to make Ghana's tax law accurate, understandable and useful.
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