Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, states that Goldbod will establish a fully state-owned, internationally accredited gold refinery as part of its efforts to promote local gold refining and enhance Ghana’s standing within the global gold value chain.
Speaking at the inaugural Mining and Minerals Convention in Accra, Sammy Gyamfi stated that the initiative is integral to the Mahama-led administration’s reset agenda, which seeks to shift Ghana’s focus from exporting unrefined doré to exporting refined bullion.
He emphasized that it is untenable for Ghana, a leading nation on the continent in gold production, to persist in exporting raw gold without substantial value addition.
The project will be located on a parcel of land already secured by the Gold Board at the cargo village of Kotoka International Airport, where an ultra-modern, ISO-certified Assay Laboratory will also be established. The facility is anticipated to supplant the current assay system with the internationally recognized fire assay standard, thereby guaranteeing credibility and transparency in gold testing and export processes.
The GoldBod will persist in fostering innovation, and in this context, we have acquired a parcel of land within the cargo village of Kotoka International Airport to establish a state-of-the-art ISO-certified Assay Laboratory. The objective is to transform Ghana’s assay system from XRF and water density methods to the gold standard of assay—fire assay—for all gold produced in and/or exported from Ghana.
I am pleased to inform you that, on the same parcel of land secured by the GoldBod at Kotoka International Airport, we will be constructing a fully state-owned gold refinery that meets international standards. This initiative aims to further develop local gold refining capabilities, shifting Ghana’s exports from doré to bullion. Beyond refining, Sammy Gyamfi also announced that efforts are in progress to forge strategic collaborations aimed at establishing a “Gold Village” in Ghana, conceived as a continental center for jewelry and ornament manufacturing. He further stated that the Ghana Gold Board is currently working in partnership with the Bank of Ghana and domestic refineries, including the Gold Coast Refinery, to initiate the local refining of gold acquired and exported by the Board.
As part of the reset agenda of the Mahama-led administration, the GoldBod, in collaboration with the Bank of Ghana, is partnering with local refineries such as the Gold Coast Refinery to initiate the domestication of gold refining processes for gold purchased and exported by the GoldBod. At this juncture, I would like to commend the Chamber of Mines for expressing their readiness to collaborate with us to facilitate the local refining of gold produced by large-scale mining companies in the country, he stated.
