The Ghana Chamber of Mines is calling for government support to reduce the cost of refining gold locally as Ghana pushes to retain more value from its mineral resources.
The report indicates that the Ghana Chamber of Mines is calling for government support to reduce the cost of refining gold locally as Ghana pushes to retain more value from its mineral resources.
It further notes that chief Executive Officer of the Chamber, Dr Ken Ashigbey, says government must take an active role in making local refining commercially viable.
“Government needs to put its skin in the game.”
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Wednesday, Dr Ashigbey stated the push for local content would come with additional costs. He, however, argued that the burden should not fall entirely on industry.
“But again, all of us need to chip in. The more we do in this country, and the more we all work together, government needs to put its skin in the game.”
His comments come as Ghana accelerates plans to end the export of raw gold and increase domestic value addition.
GoldBod has directed Self-Financing Aggregators to refine gold doré in Ghana before export from September 1, 2026. Under the directive, unrefined gold doré will no longer be approved for export.
The refining must be done at a GoldBod-approved or designated refinery, with the cost borne by the aggregator or its approved offtaker.
The policy forms part of the broader push towards Ghana’s 2030 target of ending raw mineral exports. GoldBod has also been working with the large-scale mining sector to channel gold into local refining and reserve accumulation.
Dr Ashigbey believes the government can ease the transition by reviewing taxes and levies that affect refineries.
“The issue, of course, is that it is coming from the taxes and the levies that are on; government would have to look at that, and I know that conversation is going on.”
He also wants private refinery operators to invest in technology that can lower their production costs.
“The issues of these private sector people who own the refineries in terms of the technology that they need to put in to be able to ensure that they reduce their cost, it’s something that we need to do.”
Power costs, he said, are another major concern.
