Mining sector’s GSE footprint minimal    

By Joshua Worlasi AMLANU and Ebenezer Chike Adjei NJOKU

The mining sector accounted for only GH¢2.91million, or 0.09 percent of the GH¢3.41billion total value traded on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) between January and May 2026, highlighting a growing disconnect between the country’s dominant extractive industry and its capital market.

Exchange data show the sector also contributed just 0.05 percent of total traded volume over the five-month period, generating only 5,121 transactions – the smallest footprint among all active sectors on the market.

The subdued activity comes despite a strong backdrop for commodities. Gold prices reached record highs earlier in the year and remain about 24 percent higher than a year ago, supported by geopolitical uncertainty, sustained central bank purchases and continued demand for safe-haven assets.

Yet that momentum has failed to translate into meaningful activity on the local bourse.

Only four mining-linked securities are actively listed on the GSE – AngloGold Ashanti, AngloGold Ashanti Depository Shares (AGADS), Asante Gold Corporation and Atlantic Lithium. All four recorded zero share-price appreciation year-to-date through May, underscoring the absence of effective price discovery despite favourable commodity market conditions.

For AngloGold Ashanti, shareholder returns have been driven primarily by dividends rather than capital gains. The stock remained unchanged at GH¢37 during the period, even as the company continued to generate significant cash flows globally from higher gold prices.

The contrast became even more apparent in June when AngloGold Ashanti announced plans for a shareholder vote on a proposed US$2billion share repurchase programme. The buyback proposal, approved by the board in May, is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval and will be considered at a general meeting scheduled for July 23 at the company’s global headquarters in Colorado, United States.

The announcement signals management’s confidence in the company’s financial position and cash-generation capacity. However, the development has had little visible impact on trading activity in Ghana, where the stock functions largely as a secondary listing.

The structural challenge is that AngloGold’s primary price discovery occurs on the New York Stock Exchange and Johannesburg Stock Exchange, where liquidity is significantly deeper. Trading activity on the GSE therefore tends to be residual, limiting the ability of local investors to participate meaningfully in value creation.

Asante Gold Corporation similarly recorded no share-price movement, staying at GH¢8.89 during the review period despite operating in one of the strongest gold markets in recent history. Available financial disclosures indicate negative earnings per share, with reporting current only to March 2026 on a provisional basis.

Atlantic Lithium (ALLGH) was the only mining-related counter to generate significant corporate developments during the period. ALLGH opened the year at about GH¢6.12 and gradually strengthened to a 52-week high of around GH¢8.50 before easing slightly to GH¢8.46 as of the last recorded close in June 2026. This movement points to an overall upward re-pricing over the period, with the stock largely consolidating near its peak levels in recent trading sessions.

Over the broader period, the counter has gained 29.8 percent in the past three months and 38.2 percent year-to-date with the same 38.2 percent increase recorded over six months, indicating a sustained but steady appreciation trend across 2026.

However, amid significant developments about the company, implications pointed away from Ghana’s domestic capital market. In May, the company disclosed that Elevra Lithium had agreed to transfer its rights and interests in the Ewoyaa Lithium Project to Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, subject to regulatory approvals. Under the arrangement, Huayou will assume Elevra’s interests and sole-funding obligations for the project’s remaining development phase.

The company said this agreement provides a clearer pathway for developing Ewoyaa and could accelerate delivery of economic benefits to Ghana and host communities in Central Region.

From a capital markets perspective, however, the transaction further shifts strategic control and future value creation associated with Ghana’s flagship lithium project toward foreign ownership structures, potentially reducing the investment proposition represented by Atlantic Lithium’s local listing.

The disconnect is not confined to mining alone. Tullow Oil, another extractives-related listing, also recorded no share-price movement on the GSE despite reporting a strong operational and financial performance in the first five months of 2026.

Ahead of its annual general meeting in June, Tullow said group production averaged 43,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day between January and May – placing output at the upper end of its guidance range. The company also reported strong drilling results in Ghana’s Jubilee field, facility uptime above 99 percent and approval of the Greater Jubilee Plan of Further Development, which allows for the drilling of up to 20 additional wells after completion of the current campaign.

Financially, the company reported average realised oil prices of approximately US$96 per barrel before hedging and maintained free cash flow guidance of between US$70million and US$175million for 2026.

Despite these developments, the company’s share price remained unchanged on the local exchange – reinforcing concerns that Ghana’s capital market is failing to capture value generated by sectors which dominate the broader economy.

The implications are particularly significant for domestic institutional investors. Pension funds and long-term asset managers seeking exposure to the commodities cycle have few liquid options on the local market, despite Ghana’s status as one of Africa’s leading gold producers and an emerging lithium jurisdiction.

As a result, many domestic investors have been effectively excluded from one of the strongest commodity rallies in recent years.

NewGold ETF provides the closest available proxy for gold exposure on the GSE, but its performance has diverged sharply from the global bullion rally. The Absa Capital-sponsored exchange-traded fund, which is backed by physical gold bullion, has returned a negative 3.75 percent year-to-date in cedi terms – declining from GH¢480 at the start of the year. The weakness is more pronounced over shorter periods, with the ETF down 7.04 percent in the past four weeks and 15.4 percent over the last three months.

Each GLD debenture represents approximately one-hundredth of an ounce of gold held in secure custody. However, despite gold prices rising about 24 percent year-on-year in dollar terms, the ETF’s cedi-denominated performance has been weighed down by exchange-rate dynamics.

The cedi’s relative stability and appreciation in 2026 have reduced the local currency value of dollar-priced assets, limiting the gains that Ghanaian investors would otherwise have captured from the surge in global gold prices.

Meanwhile, international investment banks remain optimistic about the outlook for gold. J.P. Morgan has projected prices could average as high as US$6,000 per ounce by the end of 2026, while Goldman Sachs continues to forecast elevated prices amid ongoing reserve diversification, geopolitical risks and a gradual shift away from dollar-dominated reserve holdings.

Post Views: 5