GoldBod begins local refining of ASM gold

The country has officially begun refining gold purchased from the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, following commencement of refinery operations by the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) in partnership with Gold Coast Refinery.

The start of operations was marked by a tour of the Gold Coast Refinery by Minister for Finance and Economic Planning Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, alongside Chief Executive Officer (CEO)-GoldBod Sammy Gyamfi and other senior officials and board members.

This visit comes after the historic agreement signed last month under which Gold Coast Refinery will refine all ASM gold purchased by GoldBod. Refining under the arrangement is scheduled to begin in February.

During the tour, Executive Chairman-Gold Coast Refinery Said Deraz took the minister and GoldBod delegation through the refinery’s full operational chain, demonstrating how raw gold supplied by GoldBod is processed into refined bullion bars.

Mr. Deraz said the refinery has entered into a technical partnership with Rand Refinery, Africa’s only London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)-accredited refinery, to support operations and ensure that gold sourced from Ghana’s ASM sector is refined locally to international standards.

He explained that the refining process begins with crushing raw gold into a mud-like slurry, followed by heating and purification stages which convert the material into granular form. The process then uses a flameless tunnel furnace and other advanced refining systems to produce finished gold bars.

The delegation inspected several key facilities at the refinery, including the assay laboratory, XRF laboratory, ICP-OES laboratory, melting room, gold dryer, incinerator, bar production section and the refinery’s vault.

At the bar production section, Forson was presented with finished gold bars bearing the official stamps of the Ghana Gold Board, Gold Coast Refinery, Bank of Ghana (BoG) and Ghana Standards Authority (GSA).

Mr. Deraz said the refinery has capacity to process up to two tonnes of gold per week, although the current agreement with GoldBod provides for refining one tonne per week.

“These gold bars you see here are for the Ghana Gold Board. We are only service providers,” he said.

Addressing journalists after the tour, Forson congratulated GoldBod, Gold Coast Refinery and Rand Refinery on the start of local refining, describing it as the realisation of a long-held objective of President John Dramani Mahama to have Ghana refine its own gold domestically.

He recalled Gold Coast Refinery was commissioned in 2016 under Mahama’s administration, but remained largely underutilised after that government left office.

Forson said the president’s desire to see the facility operate at full capacity informed government’s support for GoldBod’s decision to partner with Gold Coast Refinery and channel all ASM gold purchases into domestic refining.

The Finance Minister also praised GoldBod’s performance since it began full operations in May 2025, saying tangible benefits are already emerging from its mandate.

Dr. Forson said the start of refining operations has created employment for about 162 Ghanaians and enabled the refinery to operate on a 24-hour basis, in line with government’s 24-hour economy policy.

He said it is the first time in Ghana’s history that the emblem of a Ghanaian state institution has been stamped on gold bars refined locally.

Dr. Forson urged Gold Coast Refinery to work toward securing LBMA certification in the near future and encouraged GoldBod to put in place measures to establish a national assay laboratory before end of the year, pledging his support for the initiative.

The minister also inspected bullion vans belonging to Gold Coast Refinery and commended the company for investing in logistics and security infrastructure, which he said will help position Ghana as a major gold refining hub in Africa.

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