The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) says reforms introduced to restructure the country’s gold trading industry have created 4,866 direct jobs in less than two years, as the government intensifies efforts to expand indigenous participation in the mining sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi, disclosed that the jobs comprised 361 public-sector positions and 4,505 private-sector jobs, with additional employment opportunities emerging for gold traders, artisanal smelters, jewellers and young entrepreneurs.
He announced this while delivering the keynote address at the African Minerals Policy Forum, Mining in Motion 2026, where he outlined Ghana’s approach to mineral sovereignty, value addition and sustainable economic development.
Mr. Gyamfi also announced plans to introduce an Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Formalisation and Financing Support Programme in 2027 to improve productivity, strengthen local enterprises and reduce the environmental damage associated with small-scale mining.
The programme will be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the University of Mines and Technology, with technical support from South Africa’s Rand Refinery.
According to him, the initiative is intended to increase gold production, generate employment, improve operational efficiency and ensure that more of the economic benefits from Ghana’s mineral resources remain within the country.
Mr. Gyamfi argued that African countries must adopt mining policies that go beyond enforcement to provide practical opportunities for miners to formalise their operations, access financing and adopt modern technologies.
He maintained that effective formalisation could transform artisanal and small-scale mining into a stronger contributor to national development while improving safety and environmental management.
“Reform will endure only when compliance becomes a pathway to opportunity rather than hardships,” he said.
He explained that properly organised small-scale mining could support livelihoods, generate foreign exchange, strengthen local economies and create opportunities for young Africans to establish businesses across the mineral value chain.
Mr. Gyamfi added that modern technology could help miners improve gold recovery rates, reduce environmental degradation and operate more safely.
He said the financing programme would therefore be an important component of GoldBod’s broader strategy to make the small-scale mining sector more productive, commercially viable and environmentally responsible.
The GoldBod CEO said the reforms had also improved the country’s ability to capture foreign exchange earnings from gold that previously escaped the formal economy through smuggling, under-declaration and informal cross-border trading.
He disclosed that between January 1 and October 20, 2026, GoldBod had aggregated and exported 85.4 tonnes of artisanal and small-scale gold valued at US$11.6 billion.
The figure exceeded the 76 tonnes of large-scale gold exports valued at US$11.1 billion recorded over the same period.
He said artisanal and small-scale gold exports increased from 63 tonnes in 2024 to approximately 104 tonnes in 2025, generating US$10.8 billion in foreign exchange.
According to Mr. Gyamfi, the improved foreign exchange inflows supported market stability and reserve accumulation, demonstrating the economic benefits of bringing more gold trading activities into the formal sector.
He explained that GoldBod was established to address structural weaknesses in the gold market, including fragmented trading arrangements, inadequate regulatory oversight and ineffective systems for aggregating gold and repatriating foreign exchange.
The reforms introduced included a licensing regime for local gold traders, transparent pricing, digital stock-booking, official receipting and strengthened enforcement against illegal gold trading.
He described the increase in recorded exports as a “production clawback”, explaining that the reforms were helping Ghana recover gold that was already being produced but had previously been lost to smuggling and illegal trade.
Beyond employment creation and increased export earnings, Mr. Gyamfi said GoldBod was pursuing a strategy to retain more value locally through gold refining and other downstream activities.
He disclosed that Gold Coast Refinery and Royal Ghana Gold Refinery had collectively refined 25 tonnes of artisanal and small-scale gold purchased and exported by GoldBod in 2026 as of October 20.
He said 18.7 tonnes had been refined locally since August 1, while 5.4 tonnes of the 5.7 tonnes of artisanal and small-scale gold purchased in October had undergone local refining.
The October figure represented approximately 94.6 per cent of the month’s purchases.
Mr. Gyamfi said the government was targeting zero raw mineral exports by the end of 2030, marking a major shift towards domestic processing and value addition.
He added that 30 per cent of large-scale gold purchased under the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Programme was also being refined locally.
The two refineries, he said, were working towards obtaining accreditation from the London Bullion Market Association within the next three to five years.
Mr. Gyamfi further announced that GoldBod was procuring a blockchain-based gold tracking system to improve transparency and responsible sourcing throughout the gold supply chain.
He said the system would establish verifiable records of gold from legitimate mining sources through aggregation, refining and export, helping to combat smuggling and irresponsible mining.
A national competitive tendering process was underway and expected to be completed before the end of 2026.
He stressed that Ghana’s gold trade reforms must be accompanied by effective safeguards to ensure that gold purchased and exported by the country was lawfully and responsibly sourced.
The GoldBod chief executive said mineral sovereignty would remain incomplete if Africans continued to occupy the lowest-value segments of the mining industry while financing, equipment, technology, processing and trading opportunities remained concentrated elsewhere.
He called for deliberate policies to enable Ghanaian entrepreneurs and professionals to become mine owners, geologists, engineers, financiers, equipment suppliers, processors, refiners and mineral traders.
As part of this effort, he disclosed that GoldBod was working with the Ghana Geological Survey Authority to conduct geological investigations at Funsi in the Upper West Region and Bensere in the Ashanti Region.
The investigations are expected to identify mineral opportunities, reduce investment risks and attract credible investors while helping Ghana secure stronger equity interests in future mining projects.
Mr. Gyamfi said the country needed to move beyond excessive dependence on royalties and free-carried interests towards greater ownership of sustainable mining ventures.
Mr. Gyamfi urged African countries to cooperate in addressing illicit mineral flows, financing constraints, technology gaps and other challenges that prevent mineral-producing nations from retaining more value from their resources.
He called for a coordinated continental framework on mineral sovereignty and governance, arguing that no country could independently resolve all the challenges associated with international mineral markets and cross-border trade.
He said Ghana’s experience could offer useful lessons to other African countries, although the approach would need to be adapted to their respective legal and institutional circumstances.
“Mineral wealth does not automatically become national wealth. Geology creates potential. Policy decides who should benefit,” he stated.
He urged African governments to prioritise local ownership, refining, processing and manufacturing to ensure that mineral resources create sustainable employment, strengthen domestic industries and improve living standards.
He said the ultimate measure of success should not be the volume of minerals extracted, but the extent to which their exploitation transforms the lives of Africans and creates opportunities for future generations.
