MIIF Records Unprecedented GH¢5.3bn Mid-Year Collections, Targets GH¢9bn for 2026

The Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) says it is on course to collect about GH¢9billion in mineral royalties by end-2026,

an increase of roughly two-thirds on the GH¢5.43billion recorded for the whole of 2025 as record global gold prices continue to drive national mining revenues.

Chief Executive Officer-MIIF Justina Nelson disclosed the projection when Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie and a delegation from the Judicial Service and Ghana School of Law paid a working visit to the Fund’s Cantonments office yesterday, September 2, 2026.

Ms. Nelson said MIIF collected about GH¢5.3billion in royalties in the year’s first half alone, against roughly GH¢2.6billion over the same period of 2025 – describimg the pace of collections as unprecedented in the Fund’s history.

“In half-year 2025, we were able to do 2 billion in terms of royalties for the Republic of Ghana. In 2026, we have been able to do 5.3 as was paid for half-year and we intend doing about 9 billion to close the year. That would be a significant achievement for the fund and in the history of the fund as well,” she said. 

The half-year performance builds on a full-year 2025 in which MIIF posted an audited profit of GH¢1.1billion, even after amendments to the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act, 2018 (Act 978) cut the Fund’s statutory share of mineral royalties and free-carried dividend income from 77.6 percent and 100 percent respectively in 2024 to 2 percent in 2025. Total royalty collections for the Fund still rose to GH¢5.4billion in 2025 from GH¢4.9billion in 2024, despite the reduced entitlement.

Ms. Nelson tied the turnaround to government’s broader reset agenda for state-owned enterprises, saying the Fund’s improved retained earnings, strengthened equity-to-assets position and reduced liabilities put MIIF among the SOEs moving toward sustained profitability.

Global gold rally driving the numbers

MIIF’s revenue surge is unfolding against one of the most volatile gold markets in years. Prices touched a record intraday high of above US$5,589 per ounce in late January 2026, before easing to the US$4,000 to 4,700 range through the middle of the year on shifting expectations around US Federal Reserve policy, the US dollar and geopolitical risk tied to conflict in the Middle East.

 The World Bank’s Commodity Markets Outlook projects precious metals prices will still average 42 percent higher in 2026 than in 2025, making bullion the best-performing commodity class of the year – with central bank buying, safe-haven demand and tight supply cited as the main drivers.

Large-scale gold mining accounted for more than 98 percent of MIIF’s total royalty receipts in first half-2026, a reflection of both elevated prices and Ghana’s sliding-scale royalty regime under which government’s take rises as prices climb.

Analysts have flagged that the Fund’s ability to hit its full-year target will depend heavily on gold prices holding above current levels through the rest of the year, given how concentrated collections are in that single commodity.

MIIF Board Chairman Kwame Asante said the Fund’s 2025 and 2026 results reflected the resilience of its management and research teams in adapting to the reduced statutory allocation under the amended Act. He noted that despite the Fund’s share of royalties and dividends falling from 75.6 percent to 2 percent, MIIF had continued expanding its operations and meeting its obligations to government within the smaller allocation.

Chief Justice links judicial reform to investor confidence

In his remarks, the Chief Justice said an efficient and reliable judiciary is central to attracting investment – arguing that investors need certainty that contractual disputes will be resolved fairly and promptly before committing capital to a country.

He said this reasoning has shaped his reform agenda since taking office, including support for the proposed establishment of specialised courts to handle cases arising from illegal mining, oil and shale extraction, a proposal MIIF’s leadership said it has followed closely given its implications for the mining sector.

“Investment gravitates toward where there is peace. And investors will want to go to a place where they know their investments are safe,” Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie said.

 “People only think of the judiciary in terms of rule of law and all that. But economic development, I dare say, depends so much on the judiciary,” he added.

The Chief Justice also outlined changes to how courts handle the judiciary’s annual vacation period, under which selected ‘vacation judges’ remain on duty to handle emergency matters including injunctions and cases requiring urgent orders, while colleagues take leave on a rotating basis.

He said the courts are also implementing new procedural rules, the first substantial revision since 2004, alongside legal education reforms establishing a new regulatory council and scrapping the previous entry-level bar examination.

Both institutions described the visit as a beginning of closer engagement with MIIF, noting that its investment advisory arm can draw on judicial and legal expertise in structuring transactions while respecting the independence of both institutions.

Source: thebftonline.com