Ghana, Africa’s largest gold producer, has been consolidating control of its gold exports by clamping down on mining leases and will ban foreigners from its artisanal and small-scale mining sector at the beginning of May.
Artisanal and small-scale mining is an important contributor to Ghana’s gold exports, which accounted for 57% of the country’s total export revenue last year according to its central bank.
Revenue from gold exports rose more than 50% year on year to $11.6bn in 2024, with small-scale miners accounting for $5bn. The scope of artisanal mining in Ghana makes the country vulnerable to illicit gold trading, especially now amid a record high gold price, widespread poverty and youth unemployment.
In 2019, more than eight tonnes of illegal gold, worth more than $300m, was smuggled out of Ghana, according to the World Gold Council (WGC).
Over the past month, the state has taken steps to tighten restrictions on the informal sector by establishing the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), which will become the only seller, assayer and exporter of all gold produced by Ghana’s informal sector from May 1.
In a statement earlier this month, GoldBod ordered all foreigners to “exit the local gold trading market not later than April 30, 2025”, when “no person other than the GoldBod will be permitted to export artisanal and small-scale mined gold from Ghana”.
No person other than the GoldBod or a licensed buyer or aggregator or service provider of the GoldBod, is permitted to purchase or deal in gold in the country.
From May 1 foreigners dealing in Ghanaian gold produced by artisans will be required to apply to the state to buy or offtake gold directly from GoldBod.
“No person other than the GoldBod or a licensed buyer or aggregator or service provider of the GoldBod, is permitted to purchase or deal in gold in the country,” the group said.
The past month has also seen Ghanaian authorities clamping down on large-scale gold miners operating in the country, with the government initially announcing it would take control of SA miner Gold Fields’ Damang mine, ordering it to halt operations and evacuate the area by the weekend.
However, the Ghanaian presidency said in a statement on Wednesday that the government and the company had reached an agreement on a transitional plan for Damang. A new 12-month mining lease will be issued to a Gold Fields’ subsidiary pending parliamentary ratification in May, it added.
Gold Fields holds a 90% stake in Damang, which recently transitioned to processing stockpiles after it reached the end of its active mining lifespan last year, but still holds an estimated gold resource of 2.27-million ounces. The remaining 10% is owned by the Ghanaian government.
A report published by the WGC last year emphasised that illicit gold mining thrives in countries with large artisanal mining communities, which lack sufficient regulation.
Illicit gold trading has been shown to benefit globally connected organised crime networks, including Russian mercenaries and terrorist groups, at the expense of local informal mining communities and governments across Africa and South America.
In Ghana, the government’s failure to crack down on the illicit trade in bullion has been shown to contribute to environmental degradation and the widespread practice of child labour in the country’s artisanal gold mines.
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