Chamber of Mines seeks cheaper power, tax relief to support local gold refining

The Ghana Chamber of Mines has called for government intervention in the form of reduced energy costs and tax relief to make local gold refining more profitable. Dr Ken Ashigbey, the Chamber's CEO, highlighted that operational expenses and taxes could make refining more costly and called for collaboration between government and industry to share the burden.

He emphasized that local value addition entails additional expenses and stressed the need for all stakeholders to contribute to the success of the policy. Dr Ashigbey also suggested that government consider allocating more hydroelectric power to refineries due to their importance. He mentioned that the government's 24-hour economy program is exploring large-scale solar plants that could further reduce energy costs.

The Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025, mandates Ghana to process more gold locally, with unrefined gold doré no longer approved for export as of September 1, 2026. The Chamber supports local refining but stresses the importance of collaboration among government, mining companies, and refinery operators to reduce the cost of making the policy effective.