The Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, has announced plans by the Ghana Gold Board to ramp up the purchase of gold from the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) sector in a bid to boost foreign exchange inflows.
Addressing Parliament on Wednesday, February 25, Dr. Forson said the Gold Board will implement strategies to efficiently mop up a minimum of 2.45 tonnes of ASM gold weekly through official channels.
According to him, the move is aimed at ensuring that adequate volumes of gold are captured within the formal system to strengthen the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
“Mr. Speaker, the Ghana Gold Board will put in place strategies to efficiently mop adequate volumes of ASM gold output, minimum of 2.45 tonnes weekly, through official channels to generate adequate foreign exchange for the country.
“Over the next three years, the Ghana Gold Board will aim to mop up about 127 tonnes of ASM gold per annum,” he stated.
At current global price levels, Dr. Forson projected that the initiative could generate more than US$20 billion in foreign exchange annually for the country.
“This, at current price levels, will generate over US$20 billion in foreign exchange for the country annually,” he added.
The Finance Minister explained that formalising and channeling ASM gold purchases through regulated structures will help reduce smuggling, improve transparency in the gold trade, and maximise revenue benefits for the national economy.
He said to achieve this objective in an efficient manner, the following policy measures will be implemented in the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) sector:
• The Ghana Gold Board shall arrange enough funds to acquire about 3 to 4 weeks of gold and ensure continuous market participation.
• The Ghana Gold Board will assume full responsibility for the signing of off-take agreements and the sale of all ASM gold it procures effective March 2026. This will ensure effective end-to-end trading with off-takers and mitigate trading losses while pursuing trading gains for the country.
• The Ghana Gold Board shall deploy effective goldbacked derivative trading programmes and hedging strategies to mitigate market risk.
• To disincentivise smuggling and ensure that adequate volumes of ASM gold are purchased, the Ghana Gold Board may employ price incentives through spot world market price purchases and bonuses for licensed miners.
• Mr. Speaker, in the medium term, the Ghana Gold Board will promote ASM formalization, value-chain traceability and local gold refining to further reduce cost while maximising returns from gold exports in a sustainable manner.
• Mr. Speaker, the Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Gold Board shall sign an agreement which mandates the Ghana Gold Board to sell the foreign exchange
accrued under this policy to the Bank of Ghana only, at a cost determined by the two parties.
• The Ghana Gold Board is mandated to employ trading reforms to reduce its operating cost.
• The Ghana Gold Board to facilitate the establishment of modern LBMA-compliant processing plants in partnership with private investors to optimize recovery, particularly in the ASM sector and promote sustainability.
• Special efforts in the form of a nationwide water‑body cleansing campaign within designated mining areas will be undertaken by the Ghana Armed Forces.
• Mr. Speaker, the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) shall intensify their activities against illegal mining, especially illegal mining activities in water
bodies and forest reserves.
• The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Ghana Gold Board shall support and scale-up sustainability initiatives such as land reclamation
