Accra, Ghana — Ghana has begun refining gold from small-scale miners inside the country for the first time, converting raw doré into finished bars at the Gold Coast Refinery under a feed contract that took effect at the start of February, official statements indicate. Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson and Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) Chief Executive Sammy Gyamfi toured the Tema plant on Monday to examine the initial output, signalling cabinet-level support for the programme.
Under the agreement, all gold bought by GoldBod from artisanal and small — scale operators must now be processed domestically before any sale abroad. Government data show the refinery has a standing order of one metric tonne of doré every week, a flow that would equate to roughly 50 tonnes of throughput each year. Officials say the switch is intended to keep the two-to-three percent refining premium inside Ghana, reduce smuggling, and create skilled technical jobs.
Ghana has produced more gold than any other African nation for most of the past decade yet historically exported the majority of small — scale output unrefined to Europe and the Middle East. Previous pledges to add value stumbled because miners lacked a steady domestic buyer and refiners could not guarantee continuous feed, gaps the creation of GoldBod last April and the new weekly supply contract are meant to close. Social-media posts from mining groups reflect concern that a single-purchase model could narrow farm-gate prices if the London-price adjustment is not published in full.
Operators are also seeking clarity on assaying standards and payment schedules, though no formal protests have been reported.
The government stated in a communiqué that retaining refining capacity will save the central bank foreign exchange currently spent on importing finished bullion and position Ghana to service the planned continental gold reserve being developed by the African Central Bank. Further details on pricing formulas or third-party auditing arrangements have not yet been released.
Officials say shipments of locally refined bars could begin once the refinery’s first accumulated batch meets unspecified weight and purity targets.
Independent verification of volumes and the timeline for full operational capacity remains outstanding.
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Source: Africa.
*Additional reporting by ImNews | Sources consulted: 4*
