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The first shipment of gold supplied by the Ghana Gold Board was successfully refined by Gold Coast Refinery after the two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) a few weeks ago.
A significant step toward adding value to the nation’s minerals and switching from exporting raw gold to exporting refined bullion has been made with the successful refinement of the first shipment of 300 kg.
Additionally, it fulfils a long-standing government goal to maximise the nation’s gold resources’ revenue.
Speaking to the media following a tour of the Gold Coast Refinery and an examination of the first shipment of refined gold, Minister of Finance Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson stated that the program was the realisation of a vision first expressed by President John Dramani Mahama in 2016, when he formally commissioned the Gold Coast Refinery to start refining Ghana’s gold locally.
He stated that after the current administration took office again in 2025, the goal was fully executed, even if it had stagnated after 2016.
One of the main tenets of our agenda was the establishment of the Ghana Gold Board, which the president announced in January 2025 during his first State of the Nation Address, he stated.
According to the Minister, the Ghana Gold Board Act was later passed by Parliament in the first part of 2025, which allowed the Board to start operations in May.
According to him, the Gold Board has been buying gold from the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) industry ever since for both local and export value addition.
Dr. Forson called the Ghana Gold Board “revolutionary and visionary,” claiming that the Board had revolutionised Ghana’s gold business and garnered international recognition for its creative strategy.
He stated that the Gold Board has reached a deal with the Gold Coast Refinery to supply one tonne of gold per week for refining as part of the most recent milestone, with plans to soon build up to two tonnes per week.
According to the Minister, the refinery now employs roughly 162 people and can refine up to two tonnes of gold each day. It also operates a 24-hour production cycle in accordance with the government’s 24-hour economy program.
Furthermore, he clarified that the Gold Board itself could now buy 2.5 tonnes of gold every week on average.
According to Dr. Forson, “It is our policy to ensure that in the shortest possible time, Ghana will not be exporting raw gold outside this country.”
Source: newsthemegh.com
