Ghana mandates local gold refining to capture more industry value

On September 1, Ghana's Gold Board took a step that officials say marks a departure from decades of resource extraction without domestic benefit: it barred a category of gold exporters from shipping out semi-refined gold unless it had been processed locally first. The directive, issued by the board's Compliance Directorate on August 24, applies to Self-Financing Aggregators—licensed companies that buy and sell gold dore, the intermediate product that sits between raw ore and finished bullion. Dore requires further refining before it becomes the standardized bars that global markets recognize and price.

The policy implements the Ghana Gold Board Act of 2025, which created the board as the central authority over Ghana's gold buying, selling, testing, refining, and export. For companies like United Gold International Limited, which operates as a licensed aggregator, the change is substantial. Clement Edem Asare Morjah, the company's chief executive, framed it as historic. "For the first time since independence, we have a government determined to make sure Ghana benefits from our biggest resource, gold," he said. The margins captured by overseas refineries—the processing fees and value-added steps that happen between raw dore and finished product—have historically flowed out of the country. Morjah estimated these margins as significant across the entire refining chain. "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," he said.

The implementation has been abrupt. The Gold Board required aggregators to amend their existing offtake agreements by August 31—a tight deadline that Morjah acknowledged created immediate complications for companies with contracts already in place. Going forward, export applications will only move forward once the board confirms that gold has been refined domestically, applicable fees have been paid, and other regulatory requirements are satisfied. The board has set clear penalties for non-compliance: refusal or suspension of export approvals, suspension or revocation of licenses, administrative fines, and other enforcement measures.

The policy sits within a larger vision. Prince Kwame Minkah, the Gold Board's media relations officer, connected the refining mandate to President John Mahama's stated goal that by 2030, Ghana's natural resources should be exported with meaningful value addition built in. "The value addition is what will culminate in the building of a gold industry in Ghana," Minkah said. Local refining could generate employment, reduce the money flowing overseas for processing, and supply refined gold to domestic industries like jewelry manufacturing. The board is also planning a gold village modeled on Dubai's Gold Souk.

Ghana currently operates four licensed refineries. Gold Coast Refinery, which opened in 2016, can process up to two tonnes per week. Royal Ghana Gold Refinery, which began operations in August 2024, handles 400 kilogrammes daily. The Gold Board has supply agreements with both: it commits to supplying Gold Coast Refinery with at least one metric tonne weekly. Gold Coast Refinery also partners with South Africa's Rand Refinery. Minkah said the board is constructing what he described as "the largest refinery on the African continent" within Ghana.

The context for this move is Ghana's surging gold production. In 2025, the country produced nearly six million ounces—approximately 185 tonnes—of gold. Small-scale mining alone accounted for 3.1 million ounces, up sharply from 1.9 million ounces the year before. Gold export earnings reached about $20 billion in 2025, nearly double the $10.3 billion from 2024. Gold now represents a dominant share of Ghana's total merchandise exports, which stood at $31.1 billion. The scale of these numbers has intensified government focus on keeping more of the value chain domestic.

George Darkwa, a gold and mineral expert, called the refining requirement a positive development. "It is a positive move that will enhance value retention and formalisation," he said, and urged foreign investors to support Ghana's effort to build its domestic gold industry. Morjah offered a longer view. Once refined, gold becomes bullion that meets recognized international standards, making its quality and value more predictable and tradeable. He suggested the benefits would eventually extend beyond the companies directly subject to the rule. "Give it time," he 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."