Accra, Ghana – Ghana is requiring certain gold exporters to refine gold dore locally before it can be shipped abroad, in a move aimed at keeping more of the value generated by the country’s gold industry at home. Effective September 1, the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) barred Self-Financing Aggregators (SFAs) from exporting gold dore purchased under arrangements with approved offtakers unless it is first refined in Ghana. Dore is semi-refined gold that requires further processing before it can be turned into bullion.
The directive, issued by GoldBod’s Compliance Directorate on August 24, implements the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), which established GoldBod as the authority overseeing the buying, selling, assaying, refining and export of gold in Ghana. For Clement Edem Asare Morjah, chief executive of United Gold International Limited, a licensed SFA, the policy marks a significant change in how Ghana handles its most valuable natural resource. Morjah said refining gold locally could allow Ghanaian companies to capture margins that have historically gone to overseas processors.
Historically, we have lost this to the outside world for decades. This is the first time deliberate government policy is trying to address this anomaly,” Morjah said. But he added the short notice had created challenges for companies with existing contracts, which may now have to be amended.
GoldBod had required SFAs to amend existing offtake agreements by August 31. Export applications would only be processed after GoldBod confirms that the gold has been refined locally, applicable charges have been settled and other regulatory requirements have been met. Prince Kwame Minkah, GoldBod’s media relations officer, said the policy was intended to ensure Ghana captured more of the economic benefits from its gold.
Local refining, he added, could create jobs, reduce the amount of money paid overseas for processing and provide refined gold for industries such as jewellery manufacturing. GoldBod also plans to develop a gold village modelled on Dubai’s Gold Souk, he said. Ghana has four licensed gold refineries, including Gold Coast Refinery and Royal Ghana Gold Refinery.
Gold Coast Refinery, which opened in 2016, has a stated capacity of up to two tonnes a week, while Royal Ghana Gold Refinery, commissioned in August 2024, has a daily capacity of 400 kilogrammes (882 pounds). GoldBod has supply agreements with both refineries. Under its agreement with Gold Coast Refinery, GoldBod supplies at least one metric tonne of gold a week.
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