Producing gold locally must achieve intended purpose

Ghana reached a landmark stage in its natural resource management last Tuesday with the conclusion and signing of an agreement to refine locally produced gold in the country. 

The agreement between the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) and Gold Coast Refinery intends to refine 1,000 kilogrammes or a tonne of raw gold per week to add value for export to boost foreign exchange earnings from the country’s precious mineral resource.

The significance of the agreement does not only lie in the fact that it is the first of its kind in the country’s gold production experience, but also in the fact that it seeks to further transform and maximise the country’s earnings from gold.

In 2024, total gold exports by Ghana reached around $11.6 billion.

Official records also suggest that GoldBod exceeded its 2025 artisanal small-scale mining target to bring in over $10 billion in revenue for that sector alone.

These present the value of the gold industry alone and how much the country could generate from the mineral resource through value addition and the appropriate business infrastructure.

Already, the GoldBod has proven an important creation that has given the country a measure of success in the management of its gold resource.

As the body that facilitates the Gold-for-Reserve policy of the Bank of Ghana, the GoldBod has earned credit for how much its activities have impacted the country’s foreign exchange reserves and the ability to sustain the strength of the cedi against the major trading currencies, notably the dollar.

That the cedi currently trades under GH¢11 to a dollar owes a lot to the current gains from the reforms in the local gold trading space.

However, the country stands to gain more with the effort to refine gold locally before export.

Analysts say the country could retain as much as $134 million a year in refining fees by locally refining just 52 tonnes of gold per annum.

What it means is that the amount that would have been paid to foreign companies to refine gold for Ghana would be retained in the country.

This would impact the creation of direct and indirect jobs.

The agreement and the consequential arrangement will thus put the Gold Coast Refinery, the biggest gold refinery in West Africa and the second largest in Africa, into full use for the first time in its nearly 10 years of existence.

Established in 2016, the facility has largely remained idle over the years as Ghana shipped its gold in raw form to foreign destinations.

It has an installed capacity of 180 metric tonnes per annum of chemical refining and 144 metric tonnes per annum of electrolytic refining.

It is also certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) and has the capacity to refine gold up to a 99.99 per cent quality.

By activating it, the country will be unleashing a potential gold refinery centre in Accra, which could attract business from other parts of the sub-region.

As the GoldBod has projected, the agreement will eliminate historical purity losses and reverse undervaluation of the country’s gold exports; determine the silver content of Ghana’s gold exports and possible retention in the country for the local jewellers and fabrication industry accurately; and establish adequate availability of refined gold and silver for local jewellers and fabrication of relevant ornaments.

Ultimately, it will improve the country’s foreign exchange earnings from the mineral and increase the government’s revenue base, giving the state the latitude to invest in critical areas of the economy.

In the context of the government’s economic reset programme underpinned by the broader Reset Agenda, leveraging the country’s mineral resources for development means obtaining maximum benefit from the resource.

For now, at least, the state appears to be headed on that path.

Natural resources are not infinite.

This generation has a duty to keep them in trust for generations unborn.

This means that the present generation must manage the resources in a way that will benefit future generations. 

This is why the GoldBod agreement with Gold Coast Refinery must be made to achieve its intended purpose.