In a decisive break from the past, Ghana will now keep its gold within its borders for the final, value-added step of refining. A landmark deal between the Ghana Gold Board and Egypt's Gold Coast Refinery, fortified by technical expertise from South Africa’s Rand Refinery, mandates the local processing of one metric tonne of gold weekly beginning February 1, 2026. This shift halts a colonial model where nearly all gold was exported raw, ceding both control and millions in refining revenue to Western refining facilities.
The cornerstone of this strategic pivot is Ghana’s new ability to independently assess the purity and true market value of its gold using the internationally recognized fire assay method, moving beyond reliance on foreign valuations. As a central component of President Mahama’s “Economic Reset,” the state has secured a 15 percent interest in the refinery, ensuring direct profit sharing. This move, timed with record high global gold prices, is designed to capture maximum value from the resource, shore up foreign exchange reserves, and establish Ghana as a regional hub for high-value finished bullion.
African Currents spoke with two Ghanaian scholars closely tracking the development.
Dr. Atanga Raymond Aitibasa, a lecturer in Environmental Science at C.K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences (CKT-UTAS) in Navrongo, Ghana, detailed the strategic advantages of this transition, arguing it would move the nation up the global value chain.
"What Ghana seeks to do now is to be able to transform itself from just a raw producer of gold to a producer of finished gold, which can unlock a lot of opportunities here for job creation, direct and indirect can come by way of the refinery workforce. But beyond this, you have a lot of downstream industries that can also profit from the refined gold for the jewelry industry and for electronics, and even automobiles [...]. The transport and logistics sector will also get a boost, and then our financial institution [...]. Already, Gold has helped us a lot by stabilizing the Ghanaian currency, and I think already we're seeing the dividends from the creation of the [Ghanaian] Gold Board," Dr. Aitibasa said.
Dr. Jasper Abembia Ayelazuno, a Lecturer in Development Studies at the University for Development Studies, Ghana, emphasized a three-pronged strategy for the West African country to leverage its gold production: diversifying the economy, adding value through local refining, and establishing Ghana as a central hub in the international gold trade.
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