Ghana will from October 2025 begin local gold refining and fire assay testing following preparations completed by the Ghana Gold Board (Gold Board). 

The Chief Executive Officer of the Board, Mr Sammy Gyamfi, announced the development at the Mining and Minerals Convention in Accra on Tuesday, September 9, 2025.

 He described the move as urgent for the country’s gold sector.

“As part of the research agenda of President Mahama, the Gold Board, working with the Bank of Ghana, is partnering local refineries such as the Gold Coast Refinery to begin refining gold purchased and exported by the Board. This will start in October 2025,” Mr Gyamfi said.

He disclosed that land had already been secured at the Cargo Village of the Kotoka International Airport for the construction of an ISO-certified assay laboratory.

He explained that plans were also underway for the establishment of a wholly state-owned international standard gold refinery to advance local refining, moving Ghana from the export of doré to bullion.

The new laboratory will introduce fire assay testing, regarded internationally as the gold standard, to replace the existing XRF and water density methods. Fire assay testing is a precise, multi-step process for determining the gold and platinum group element (PGE) content in ores and other materials.

“Our aim is to shift Ghana’s assay regime from XRF and water density to fire assay for all gold, both small-scale and large-scale, produced in or exported from Ghana,” Mr Gyamfi stated.

He added that the Chamber of Mines had expressed readiness to work with the Gold Board to refine gold produced by large-scale mining companies locally.

Mr Gyamfi said the initiative was aimed at adding value to Ghana’s mineral exports. “It is a national shame that as a longstanding continental leader in gold production, Ghana continues to export doré, which is raw gold, instead of bullion. The Ghana Gold Board is determined to change this as a matter of urgency,” he said.

The refinery and assay lab projects are expected to help Ghana retain more value from its gold, while strengthening its position as a continental hub for bullion trade.

“This is about asserting our sovereignty over our gold wealth and making sure our people benefit fully from the resources that God has blessed us with,” Mr Gyamfi added.