Ghana orders foreigners to exit its gold market as part of reform

Ghana has ordered all foreigners to exit trading in its gold market, as part of a new legislation that aims to streamline and formalize gold trade in the country, ensuring that Ghana benefits fully from its gold resources.

The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) now holds exclusive control over the buying, selling, assaying, and export of gold produced by the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) sector.

The Gold Board was set up earlier this year to better regulate gold purchases from small-scale miners, in a bid to increase national earnings, reduce smuggling, optimize the country’s benefits from its gold exports, and contribute to the stability of the national currency.

The board’s new decision will end the business of foreign companies with export licenses that can buy and export from artisanal or small-scale mining.

Foreigners must leave the local gold trading market by April 30 although they can apply “to buy or take-off gold directly from the GoldBod,” an official statement said.

Ghana’s gold exports grew by 53.2% in 2024 to $11.64 billion, of which nearly $5 billion was from legal small-scale miners.

Ghana is also one of the world’s top gold producers, with its gold mining industry playing a crucial role in the national economy.