GoldBod says 7.1 tonnes of gold are being refined in Ghana

Ghana is currently refining 7.1 metric tonnes of gold purchased by the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), chief executive officer Sammy Gyamfi says.

The move is allowing the country to keep refining fees within its domestic economy instead of paying foreign countries, including Dubai, where some of the gold had previously been processed.

Speaking on Twitter Spaces on Sunday, 9 August 2026, Mr Gyamfi said the development was part of wider efforts to retain a greater share of the value generated by Ghana’s gold industry.

“7.1 metric tonnes of the gold bought by GoldBod is now being refined in Ghana. The refining fees that would have been given to Dubai and other countries are all staying in Ghana to help the management of our economy,” he said.

Mr Gyamfi said the expansion of Ghana’s local refining capability was also improving the country’s position in the international gold market.

He identified the accreditation secured by Gold Coast Refinery from the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) as an important step for the sector. The development, he said, would help Ghana participate more meaningfully in global gold trading.

Gold is one of Ghana’s key economic sectors, and the GoldBod chief executive said retaining more of the income generated from the industry in the country was important to the management of the economy.

He also highlighted the Board’s work to profile people and businesses licensed to buy gold in Ghana.

“We are profiling all persons with a licence to buy gold in Ghana, and it is helping us know where all the gold buys are coming from,” he said.

The profiling process is intended to give GoldBod a clearer picture of the sources of gold entering the formal market. According to Mr Gyamfi, identifying where the gold purchases originate is helping the institution improve oversight of the sector.

GoldBod’s current refining programme therefore combines two objectives: increasing the amount of processing carried out domestically and strengthening knowledge of the gold that enters Ghana’s formal trading system.

Mr Gyamfi said the refining of the 7.1 metric tonnes in Ghana meant fees that would previously have gone to overseas facilities were now remaining in the country. He described that retention of value as part of the broader effort to ensure that Ghana benefits more fully from its gold production and trade.

The comments come alongside the progress made by Gold Coast Refinery in securing LBMA accreditation, which Mr Gyamfi presented as evidence of Ghana’s growing capacity to operate within international gold markets.