The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has directed all Self-Financing Aggregators (SFAs) to ensure that all gold doré purchased under arrangements with approved Offtakers is refined in Ghana before export.
The directive takes effect from September 1, 2026, and forms part of GoldBod’s mandate to regulate the purchase, sale, refining, value addition and export of gold in the country.
Under the new directive, no gold doré will be permitted to leave Ghana in its unrefined state. GoldBod says every offtake agreement or commercial arrangement between an SFA and an approved Offtaker must expressly include the mandatory local refining requirement.
The Board has also stated that export requests for gold doré will not be approved unless the gold has first been refined locally at a refinery approved or designated by GoldBod.
GoldBod says the cost of refining will be borne by the SFA or the approved Offtaker, depending on their commercial arrangement, and must be paid or otherwise settled before the refined gold is exported.
Existing offtake agreements and related commercial arrangements must be amended to incorporate the new requirement by August 31, 2026. GoldBod may request evidence of such amendments at any time.
From September 1, export approvals will only be processed after GoldBod confirms that the gold has been refined in Ghana, applicable refining charges have been settled, and all assay, regulatory and other export requirements have been met.
The Board warned that failure to comply with the directive, including the export or attempted export of unrefined gold doré, will constitute a breach of an SFA licence.
Possible sanctions include refusal or suspension of export approvals, suspension or revocation of licences, administrative sanctions and other enforcement measures permitted under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140).
GoldBod says the directive is intended to further strengthen local refining and value addition within Ghana’s gold industry.
By: Bernard Mensah
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