GoldBod says local gold refining costs will not be borne by state

The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has announced that the state will not be responsible for the costs associated with refining gold locally. Instead, this responsibility will be borne by self-financing gold aggregators and their approved foreign buyers. In an interview on Joy FM’s Middaynews, GoldBod's Media Relations Officer, Prince Kwame Minkah, clarified that this arrangement is meant to maximize the economic value Ghana derives from its gold resources while avoiding an additional financial burden on GoldBod.

The mandatory local refining policy is governed by the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), which stipulates that refining costs will be absorbed by self-financing aggregators or their approved foreign offtakers. Minkah emphasized that the refining costs would be settled directly between private parties and approved local refineries before GoldBod handles the export documentation.

He affirmed that the arrangement would not reduce GoldBod's net revenue or statutory fees, as the refining charges are settled directly between private aggregators, offtakers, and the approved local refineries before export documentation is cleared by the Gold Board. Minkah explained that refining gold domestically to 99.99% purity would allow Ghana to capture additional value that is lost when raw gold is exported for processing abroad.

This policy is also expected to foster job creation and industrialization by strengthening Ghana's domestic refining sector and generating opportunities for skill development and related industries.