Ghana will stop approving exports of unrefined artisanal and small-scale gold doré from September 1, forcing a trade that shipped about 104 tonnes abroad last year to pass through local refineries before leaving the country.

The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has directed Self-Financing Aggregators (SFAs) and their approved off-takers to refine all gold doré purchased under their arrangements in Ghana, marking a significant shift in government’s attempt to retain more value from the country’s rapidly expanding artisanal gold industry.

Under the directive issued on August 24, no unrefined gold dorécovered by the arrangements will receive export approval from September 1. Refining must be undertaken at a refinery approved or designated by GoldBod.

The measure brings a substantial volume of Ghana’s gold trade within reach of domestic refiners.

GoldBod exported about 104 tonnes of artisanal and small-scale gold in 2025, with the agency on course to match or exceed that volume this year.

The new requirement means gold previously exported in doréform under SFA arrangements will have to undergo domestic processing before shipment, potentially increasing throughput for local refineries and retaining part of the refining income that would otherwise accrue outside Ghana.

The change is also being introduced while GoldBod restructures how the large working-capital requirement behind artisanal gold purchases is financed.

Fifteen commercial banks have expressed interest in providing financing for GoldBod’s gold purchases as the agency moves towards a market-based funding structure following the end of its previous purchasing arrangement involving the Bank of Ghana.

GoldBod successfully tested the new model on August 3, raising US$75 million from commercial banks within 48 hours without BoG acting as an intermediary. The funds were deployed under a structure designed to use expected foreign-exchange proceeds from gold exports to support financing for domestic purchases.

GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi has said the agency is increasingly dealing directly with commercial banks and international gold off-takers to mobilize the liquidity required to sustain purchases after moving away from the previous BoG-backed arrangement.

The financing transition is important because GoldBod’spurchasing operation requires substantial revolving capital to pay aggregators and miners before the acquired gold is exported and the corresponding dollar proceeds are realized.

GoldBod has also relied on advance payments from international off takers. Mr Gyamfi said the agency raised close to US$839 million from gold off takers between March and May 2026, alongside other funding channels, as it sought to maintain purchases without depending on direct central-bank financing.

GoldBod said every off take agreement or commercial arrangement between an SFA and an approved off-taker must expressly provide for mandatory local refining, with existing agreements required to be amended by August 31.

The cost of refining will be borne by the SFA or approved off-taker according to their commercial arrangement and must be settled before the refined gold is exported.

Mandatory local refining will add processing costs to the gold-trading chain but create additional revenue for domestic refineries and retain more value within Ghana.

From September 1, GoldBod will process export applications only after confirming that the gold has been refined locally, applicable refining charges have been settled and assay, regulatory and other export requirements have been satisfied.

The Board has also reserved the right to determine the refinery at which particular consignments are processed.

The directive advances government’s efforts to retain more economic value from artisanal gold, which has become an important source of foreign exchange for Ghana.

Rather than limiting the policy to formalizing purchases and capturing export proceeds through official channels, the new requirement extends GoldBod’s control further along the value chain by requiring domestic processing before export.

The requirement could substantially increase demand for domestic refining capacity as more gold traded through SFAs is processed locally.

Mandatory local refining will also place greater demands on the capacity and turnaround times of approved refineries. Delays in processing could extend the period between the purchase of gold from miners and receipt of export proceeds, potentially increasing the working capital required to keep the purchasing chain liquid.

That makes GoldBod’s parallel effort to broaden commercial-bank financing particularly important. A reliable flow of bank and off taker funding will be needed to sustain purchases while the gold moves through aggregation, refining and export before dollar proceeds are realized.

GoldBod has warned that attempts to export unrefined doré in breach of the directive could result in refusal or suspension of export approvals, administrative sanctions, or suspension and revocation of licences.

With about 104 tonnes of artisanal gold exported last year, the September 1 requirement therefore represents more than an export restriction. It shifts a sizeable gold-processing business towards domestic refineries while placing greater demands on the financing, refining capacity and turnaround times required to keep one of Ghana’s largest sources of foreign exchange moving.