By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila

ACCRA, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Africa's top gold producer

Ghana will commission its first large-scale greenfield mine in

more than a decade in November, with expected annual production

of more than 350,000 ounces, the head of its mining sector

regulator told Reuters.

The Cardinal Namdini mine is owned by Cardinal Resources, a

unit of Shandong Gold which received a licence for

the facility in 2020.

Ghana, the world's number two cocoa producer, has seen gold

exploration slump over the past decade, limiting new projects

and lowering output from big miners.

Martin Ayisi, CEO of the Minerals Commission, said three

other new mines, including a lithium project, will come onstream

by 2026 to boost the West Africa nation's minerals production

and quicken a recovery from its worst economic crisis in a

generation.

Ghana last commissioned a large-scale greenfield mine in

2013 when miner Newmont ( NEM ) launched its Akyem site in

southeastern Ghana.

Since then, "exploration took a nosedive", Ayisi said in an

interview on Monday, but "we will now have commissioning

galore".

"First is Cardinal Namdini, which is a monster mine and it

will produce an average of 358,000 ounces per year. Mid-year

2025, Newmont ( NEM ) will commission another monster mine - Ahafo

North."

He said the two mines would add at least 600,000 ounces of

gold to Ghana's annual output while bolstering economic growth

and creating hundreds of jobs.

Ghana mined 4.03 million ounces of gold in 2023, driven

largely by increased output from small-scale and artisanal

miners.

Ayisi said another two new mines - a gold mine by Azumah

Resources in northwestern Ghana along the border with Burkina

Faso, and the country's first lithium project, owned by Atlantic

Lithium - will start production in 2026.

Miners welcome Ghana's stable fiscal regime, but say

excessive costs and bureaucracy are a deterrent for investment.

Ayisi said the Minerals Commission was working with the

government to lower the exploration tax.

"Ivory Coast is number one when it comes to exploration

spend because they have made it easier. We are number four, but

we can be number one," he said.

Gold production hit 2.5 million ounces by July this year, of

which 42% came from small-scale and artisanal miners as surging

global gold prices boosted the sector.

(Editing by Alessandra Prentice and Jan Harvey)