Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, said the Minister made the call when he addressed a Ministerial Forum on International Mining Cooperation, and the opening of the 28th China Mining Conference and Exhibition 2026 in Tianjin, China.

The conference was under the theme: “Win-Win Cooperation, Green and Intelligent.”

According to a statement from the office of the Minister, Mr Buah informed the conference and exhibitors that Ghana was ready to build a new generation of mining partnerships that would deliver greater value to the country, investors, mining communities, and the wider global economy.

Mr Buah said Ghana’s vision was no longer limited to extracting minerals and exporting them as raw materials, stressing that the country wanted its mineral wealth to drive industrialisation, create jobs, and develop local expertise.

He said: “The next chapter of mining must be measured not simply by what we take from the ground, but by what we leave above it: industries, skills, technology, restored land, stronger communities and a more prosperous nation.”

The Minister noted that for decades, resource-rich countries including Ghana had supplied raw materials while most processing, technology and value creation took place elsewhere.

He said Ghana was determined to change that model by ensuring that minerals contributed directly to value addition, industrial development, job creation, and skills development.

“For the young Ghanaian looking for work, value addition is not an economic theory. It is a job, a skill, a career, and a possibility of building a life at home,” Mr Buah stated.

He explained that Ghana’s concept of a win-win partnership meant that the country must receive fair value from its resources, while investors must have a stable, predictable and commercially viable environment to operate.

He mentioned the presence of major Chinese companies, including Chifeng Gold Group, Shandong Gold, and Zijin Mining, in Ghana’s mining sector, describing their investments as evidence of what the two countries could achieve through cooperation.

He, however, said Ghana wanted future partnerships to go beyond extraction, saying; “We want the next generation of partnerships to go further into processing, technology, skills development, infrastructure and local supply chains.”

Mr Buah noted that China’s experience in connecting natural resources to processing, manufacturing, infrastructure and technology presented significant opportunities for Ghana.

The Minister also placed environmental sustainability at the centre of Ghana’s mining agenda, particularly in the fight against illegal and irresponsible mining.

He, therefore, called for greater cooperation between Ghana and China in environmental management, Mine reclamation, tailings management and land restoration, drawing on China’s technological experience.

Mr Buah also identified intelligent mining and modern geological information as another major area for Ghana-China cooperation.

He said Ghana was modernising its national geological database, improving geological survey and mapping capabilities, and strengthening digital traceability across the gold supply chain.

“A country must understand the resources it owns if it is to manage them well, attract the right investment and negotiate from a position of knowledge,” he said.

He added that improved geological data would reduce exploration risks for investors, strengthen government decision-making, and help Ghana better understand the scale and quality of its mineral resources.

Mr Buah said China’s expertise in automation, geological science, mineral processing, data systems, engineering and infrastructure made it a natural partner for Ghana in developing intelligent mining.

He, however, emphasised that technology cooperation must include deliberate efforts to develop Ghanaian human capital.

He said: “We want structured technical exchanges and mining-specific training opportunities for Ghanaian engineers, geologists, and regulators so that cooperation leaves behind stronger Ghanaian expertise and institutions.”