Ghana’s local refining mandate aims to retain more gold wealth domestically, create jobs and strengthen the country’s gold industry.
Ghana has ordered certain gold exporters to refine gold dore locally before shipping it abroad, in a move aimed at retaining more value from the country’s gold industry.
The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) said the requirement took effect on September 1 and applies to Self-Financing Aggregators (SFAs), who are barred from exporting gold dore purchased under arrangements with approved offtakers unless it has first been refined in Ghana.
Dore is semi-refined gold that requires further processing before it can be converted into bullion.
The directive, issued by GoldBod’s Compliance Directorate on August 24, implements the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), which established GoldBod as the authority responsible for the buying, selling, assaying, refining and export of gold in Ghana.
The policy is part of efforts by the government to increase local value addition and reduce the revenue Ghana loses when gold is processed overseas.
Clement Edem Asare Morjah, chief executive of United Gold International Limited, a licensed SFA, described the policy as a major shift in the management of Ghana’s gold resources.
“For the first time since independence, we have a government determined to make sure Ghana benefits from our biggest resource, gold,” he said.
Morjah said local refining would allow Ghanaian businesses to retain margins that have historically gone to foreign processors.
“In the entire value chain between refining and raw processed gold, the cost in between is a lot of margins. Historically, we have lost this to the outside world for decades. This is the first time deliberate government policy is trying to address this anomaly,” he said.
However, he said the short notice had created challenges for companies with existing contracts, which may now have to be renegotiated or amended.
GoldBod had directed SFAs to amend existing offtake agreements by August 31. It said export applications would only be processed after confirming that the gold had been refined locally, applicable charges had been paid and other regulatory requirements fulfilled.
Prince Kwame Minkah, GoldBod’s media relations officer, said the policy was designed to ensure Ghana captures more of the economic benefits generated by its gold resources.
“Ghana is one of the top gold-producing countries in the world, so we need to truly maximise national benefits. Value addition is key,” he said.
Minkah said the policy aligns with President John Mahama’s vision of ensuring that Ghana’s natural resources are exported with a greater level of value addition by 2030.
“The value addition is what will culminate in the building of a gold industry in Ghana,” he said.
He added that local refining could create jobs, reduce payments to overseas processors and supply refined gold to industries including jewellery manufacturing.
Minkah also said GoldBod plans to develop a gold village modelled on Dubai’s Gold Souk.
Ghana currently has four licensed gold refineries, including Gold Coast Refinery and Royal Ghana Gold Refinery.
Gold Coast Refinery, which opened in 2016, has a stated capacity of up to two tonnes per week, while Royal Ghana Gold Refinery, commissioned in August 2024, can process 400 kilogrammes of gold daily.
GoldBod has supply agreements with both refineries. Under its agreement with Gold Coast Refinery, the board supplies at least one metric tonne of gold per week.
Gold Coast Refinery is also partnered with South Africa’s Rand Refinery.
Minkah said GoldBod was also developing what he described as “the largest refinery on the African continent” in Ghana.
Ghana’s push for greater domestic value addition comes as its gold industry records strong growth.
The country produced nearly six million ounces, equivalent to about 185 tonnes, of gold in 2025. Small-scale mining accounted for about 3.1 million ounces, or 96 tonnes, up from 1.9 million ounces, or 59 tonnes, the previous year.
Gold export earnings reached about $20 billion in 2025, nearly double the $10.3 billion recorded in 2024. Total merchandise exports stood at about $31.1 billion.
The growth has strengthened the government’s drive to bring more of the gold value chain under domestic control.
George Darkwa, a gold and mineral expert, described the refining requirement as a positive development.
“It is a positive move that will enhance value retention and formalisation,” he said, while urging foreign investors to support Ghana’s efforts to develop its domestic gold industry.
GoldBod warned that exporting or attempting to export unrefined dore in breach of the new requirement would constitute a violation of licence conditions.
Possible sanctions include refusal or suspension of export approvals, suspension or revocation of licences, administrative penalties and other enforcement measures.
The board said the directive would strengthen regulation while ensuring that more value from Ghana’s gold is retained domestically through refining and other forms of value addition.
Morjah said the benefits would extend beyond companies directly affected by the policy.
He said refining gold into bullion would make its quality and value more predictable while allowing Ghana to capture a greater share of the value generated by its natural resources.“Give it time,” Morjah said. “Everybody will understand the benefit. When you’re doing business, you don’t only think about your individual benefit as a company. You must think about the body corporate as a nation.”