Ghana, Africa’s largest gold producer joins push to ban unrefined gold exports with new deadline

Ghana is moving to retain more value from its gold industry as the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) orders Self-Financing Aggregators (SFAs) to refine all gold doré locally before it can be exported.

• Ghana now requires all gold doré to be locally refined before export, as mandated by the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) from September 1, 2026.
• This directive applies to Self-Financing Aggregators (SFAs) and all new and existing offtake agreements must ensure local refining.
• The cost of refining will be borne by either the SFA or the offtaker, and GoldBod will process export approvals only after confirming compliance.
• Failure to comply with the local refining rule can lead to sanctions including suspension of export approvals and revocation of licenses.

The directive, issued by GoldBod's Compliance Directorate on August 24, 2026, takes effect on September 1 and applies to gold purchased by SFAs under arrangements with approved offtakers.

Under the new rules, no gold doré can be exported from Ghana in its unrefined form. SFAs must ensure that gold is processed at a refinery approved or designated by GoldBod before seeking export approval.

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The directive is issued under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), which expanded GoldBod's mandate over the purchase, sale, refining, value addition and export of gold.

Ghana seeks more value from its gold

GoldBod said every offtake agreement between an SFA and an approved offtaker must now include a provision requiring gold doré to be refined in Ghana before export.

Existing agreements must also be amended by August 31 to incorporate the new requirement, with GoldBod reserving the right to request evidence that the changes have been made.

The cost of refining will be borne by the SFA or its approved offtaker, depending on their commercial arrangement. The refining charges must be paid or otherwise settled before the refined gold can be exported.

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GoldBod will only process an export request after confirming that the gold has been refined locally, applicable refining charges have been settled and all assay, regulatory and export requirements have been met.

The move represents another step in Ghana's effort to increase local value addition in its gold industry, rather than allowing the country to export gold in a less processed form and capture a smaller share of the value generated further along the supply chain.

Ghana is Africa's largest gold producer and has been strengthening state oversight of the sector through GoldBod, which was established to reorganise the country's gold trading system and increase the government's participation in the formal gold market.

The new directive also gives GoldBod greater control over where exported gold is refined, as the regulator can determine the refinery to be used and issue additional instructions governing the process.

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SFAs that breach the directive could face regulatory sanctions because compliance forms part of their licensing conditions.

GoldBod said the export or attempted export of unrefined gold could result in refusal or suspension of export approvals, suspension or revocation of licences, administrative sanctions or other enforcement measures allowed under Ghana's gold laws.

The directive therefore shifts Ghana's gold export system further towards domestic processing and value addition, with the new local-refining requirement becoming mandatory for SFAs from September 1.