The Ghana Gold Board has announced plans to begin refining gold locally from October 2025, in collaboration with the Bank of Ghana and domestic refineries.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, disclosed this at the maiden Mining and Minerals Convention in Accra on Tuesday, 9 September.
“It is a national shame that, as a long-standing continental leader in production, Ghana continues to export doré, that is, raw gold instead of bullion. The Ghana Gold Board, which I lead, is determined to change this narrative as a matter of urgency.
“As part of the reset agenda of President Mahama, the GoldBod, in conjunction with the BoG, is partnering with local refineries such as the Gold Coast Refinery to begin the local refining of gold purchased and exported by the GoldBod and this will begin next month, October 2025,” Mr Gyamfi stated.
The move is expected to mark a turning point in Ghana’s gold value chain. Currently, Ghana exports the bulk of its gold in raw doré form, forfeiting the additional value that comes from refining into bullion before export.
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According to the Minerals Commission, Ghana remains Africa’s largest gold producer, with output of more than 4 million ounces annually. Despite this, the country lacks large-scale refining capacity, relying instead on foreign refineries for processing.
Industry analysts have long argued that refining gold locally could help the country retain more value, improve revenue mobilisation, create jobs, and strengthen Ghana’s hand in international bullion markets.
The collaboration between the Gold Board, the central bank, and the Gold Coast Refinery – Ghana’s only major gold refinery with capacity of up to 400 kilograms per day – is aimed at addressing this gap.
The initiative also ties into wider government efforts to ensure that natural resource exploitation contributes more directly to Ghana’s economic resilience.
