Ghana to Launch Gold Board to Boost Earnings and Curb Smuggling

Ghana is set to establish a Gold Board to better regulate gold purchases from small-scale miners, aiming to increase national earnings and reduce smuggling.
Announced by the newly appointed Finance minister, Cassiel Ato Forson, the initiative is designed to help the country, Africa’s leading gold producer, optimize the benefits from its gold exports and contribute to the stability of its national currency.
Forson noted that nearly $5 billion worth of gold exported in 2024 came from legal small-scale miners. The Gold Board, due to be launched in March, will streamline the gold trade by acting as the sole buyer through licensed aggregators and local traders, moving away from the current fragmented and unregulated system. Forson highlighted that the existing chaos in Ghana’s gold purchasing sector has hindered the country from fully capitalising on its gold resources, contributing to widespread smuggling and loss of foreign exchange. The new board will also aim to ensure the country meets the stringent standards required for certification by the London Bullion Market Association, which prohibits the trade of gold linked to human rights abuses, conflict, crime, or environmental harm.
In 2024, Ghana’s total gold exports reached $11.64 billion, a 53.2% increase from the previous year, which played a significant role in boosting the country’s trade surplus to $4.98 billion. Forson emphasized that Ghana’s future strategy will expand beyond royalties and taxes by tapping into the full gold value chain, from extraction to refining and marketing, both domestically and internationally.