The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has signed a gold refining agreement with Gold Coast Refinery.
The landmark partnership was signed on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.
The GoldBod and Gold Coast Refinery partnership mark a major milestone in Ghana’s step to add value addition within Ghana’s gold sector.
The partnership will reduce Ghana’s reliance on exporting raw gold, which has led to revenue losses.
Under the GoldBod partnership with Gold Coast Refinery, gold sourced from both artisanal and large-scale mining operations will be refined locally.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Sammy Gyamfi, the GoldBod Chief Executive Officer, stated, “This development marks a major milestone in Ghana’s gold trade and will help maximise national benefits from our mineral resources”.
He further highlighted, “The millions of dollars we pay as refinery charges to refineries in Dubai, Switzerland, India, Hong Kong, and other foreign countries will now stay in our banking sector. That money will now stay in our economy.”
“What this agreement also means is that we are creating more direct and indirect jobs, particularly because Gold Coast Refinery has committed to operating 24/7 in line with the government’s 24-hour policy”, he added.
GoldBod and Gold Coast Refinery partnership follows earlier announcements by Sammy Gyamfi, who revealed plans for Ghana to refine gold before export from October 2025.
According to Sammy Gyamfi, the Goldbod will establish a wholly state-owned and international-standard gold refinery.
He highlighted that the reset agenda of Mahama is aimed at transitioning Ghana from the export of raw doré to refined bullion.
He further argued that it was unacceptable for Ghana, as a leader in gold production on the continent, to be exporting raw gold without significant value addition.
Speaking at the maiden edition of the Mining and Minerals Convention in Accra, Sammy Gyamfi stated, “I am happy to inform you that on that same parcel of land secured by the Gold Board, we will be building a wholly state-owned and international standard gold refinery to further advance the local refining of gold produced in Ghana from the S-Model of Ndoko to Gold.”
“The GoldBod would continue to drive innovation, and in this regard, we have secured a parcel of land at the cargo village of the Kotoka International Airport to build an ultra-mordern ISO certified Assay Laboratory with the aim of changing Ghana’s assay regime from XRF and water density to the golden standard of assay – fire assay, for all gold produced in and/or exported from Ghana”.
Sammy Gyamfi added, “As part of the reset agenda of the Mahama-led administration, the GoldBod in conjunction with the Bank of Ghana, is partnering local refineries such as the Gold Coast Refinery to begin the local refining of gold purchased and exported by the GoldBod. Let me at this stage commend the Chamber of Mines for expressing their willingness to work with us to ensure the local refining of gold produced by large-scale mining firms in the country”.
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