Finance Minister inspects first gold at Gold Coast Refinery
The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, have inspected the first consignment of refined gold at the Gold Coast Refinery as the agreement signed between the state agency and the refinery takes full effect.
They also toured the refinery yesterday as part of the exercise to apprise themselves of operations at the facility.
The minister and his delegation were received by the Chairman and CEO of Gold Coast Refinery, Dr Said Deraz, and other officials of the refinery.
For a start, Gold Coast Refinery is refining 1,000 kilogrammes (equivalent to one tonne) of raw gold from the GoldBod per week for the export market.
The initiative is intended to add value to Ghana’s gold and maximise opportunities in the value chain.
Gold Coast Refinery, originally a private enterprise which now has a 15 per cent state interest, is Africa’s second biggest refinery, only after Randgold Resources of South Africa.
It has the capacity to refine 180 tonnes of gold annually, with a daily capacity of 480 kilogrammes of gold refining.
Fire assay laboratory
Addressing the media after touring the facility, Dr Forson said the government was set to establish the first-ever fire assay laboratory at the GoldBod by the end of the year.
With plans already far advanced, the minister explained that the fire assay laboratory, which was part of the government’s policies, was to offer the country the opportunity to have a domestic scientific capacity to determine the true value and purity of its gold.
“Our next policy line will be to encourage the GoldBod to, latest by the end of the year, have a fire assay lab so that all large-scale mining companies will take their gold through fire assay at the gold board lab, for us to ascertain the true value of our royalties.
He stressed that the project would enable the state to determine the true value of its gold, ensure transparency and raise revenue to support national development.
Dr Forson stated that the move would end decades of reliance on mining firms to declare gold values, a situation that had persisted since independence.
Support
Dr Forson stressed that GoldBod needed strong support to advance its excellent work.
“I want to use this opportunity to encourage the people of Ghana to support the vision of the President, a vision that he started in 2016.
“That Ghana must refine its own gold and retain greater value from its natural resources,” he said.
He said Ghana was moving decisively away from exporting raw gold.
“For the first time, we will see gold bars stamped in the name of the Ghana Gold Board and the Government of Ghana being sold on the international market,” the Finance Minister added.
Long-standing vision
Dr Forson also commended Gold Coast Refinery and its technical partner, Rand Refinery, for helping to bring the President’s long-standing vision into reality.
He recalled that President John Dramani Mahama inaugurated the Gold Coast Refinery in 2016 with the objective of refining Ghana’s gold locally, but said the vision stalled after his administration left office later that year.
He said the renewed mandate in 2025 provided the opportunity to fully implement the policy direction, beginning with the establishment of the Ghana Gold Board following the passage of the Gold Board Act by Parliament.