The Government of Ghana, through the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), has reached a landmark agreement with the Ghana Chamber of Mines to increase the proportion of gold purchased locally from large-scale mining companies from 20% to 30%, in a move aimed at strengthening the country’s foreign exchange reserves and deepening value retention within the gold sector.
The agreement, reached under the joint direction of the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, forms part of government’s broader strategy to enhance domestic gold retention, support reserve accumulation and position Ghana as a major player in gold refining.
30% Gold offtake from large-scale miners
Under the new arrangement, each large-scale mining company operating in the country will sell 30% of its gold output to GoldBod in doré form, up from the previous 20% agreed under the 2022 arrangement between the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Ghana Chamber of Mines.
The gold will be purchased locally in Ghana cedis at the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Reference Rate and at a discount of 0.55%.
Government officials say the revised framework has been deliberately designed to support Ghana’s ambition of securing London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) accreditation for at least one local gold refinery by 2030.
Local refining and reserve accumulation strategy
Under the arrangement, all doré gold purchased by GoldBod will be refined locally before being shipped to an LBMA-certified refinery for final melting and stamping.
The refined gold will subsequently be delivered to the Bank of Ghana to support the country’s reserve accumulation programme.
GANRAP drives long-term reserve build-up
The initiative forms part of the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Programme (GANRAP), which seeks to build Ghana’s foreign reserves to the equivalent of 15 months of import cover by the end of 2028.
It also aligns with President John Dramani Mahama’s vision of eliminating raw mineral exports by 2030 and ensuring greater value addition within the country’s extractive sector.
Formal agreement signed through multi-agency MoU
The agreement was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding involving the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Ghana Gold Board, Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Chamber of Mines.Further details of the agreement are expected to be published on July 29, 2026.
The latest development comes as GoldBod reports significant gains from gold purchases made from the artisanal and small-scale mining sector.
According to official figures, GoldBod purchased and exported gold worth US$16.11 billion between January 2025 and May 2026.
During the period, the agency acquired a total of 135.843 metric tonnes of gold, equivalent to approximately 4.37 million ounces, with 135.221 metric tonnes sourced from the artisanal and small-scale mining sector.
In 2025 alone, GoldBod aggregated and exported 104 metric tonnes of gold from small-scale miners, generating more than US$10 billion in export earnings for the country.
Stabilising the Economy
Government believes the expansion of local gold purchases from both small-scale and large-scale producers will significantly strengthen the country’s reserve accumulation efforts and reduce Ghana’s vulnerability to external economic shocks.
Officials explained that the GANRAP programme is anchored on a gold-based reserve accumulation strategy supported by measures to increase non-traditional exports, improve productivity in the cocoa sector, boost remittance inflows, develop new oil fields, reduce foreign exchange leakages—particularly within the energy sector—and maintain fiscal discipline.
Import cover target set at 15 months by 2028
Current estimates place Ghana’s import cover at about 5.7 months.
To achieve the target of 15 months by 2028, the country will need to accumulate an additional 9.3 months of import cover.
Government estimates that achieving this objective will require an average annual net reserve build-up of approximately US$9.5 billion after accounting for external debt servicing, foreign exchange market interventions, energy sector obligations and other statutory outflows.
Weekly gold purchase target of 3.02 tonnes set
As part of the operational framework, GANRAP has established a weekly gold purchase target of approximately 3.02 metric tonnes. Officials estimate that this could generate annual gross inflows of about US$25.3 billion, providing a substantial buffer for reserve accumulation, exchange rate stability and long-term macroeconomic resilience.
