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Ghana to locally refine its gold starting October 2025 – Sammy Gyamfi
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, has announced that plans are far advanced for the establishment of a state-owned gold refinery in the country.
Speaking at the 2025 Minerals and Mining Convention, Mr Gyamfi said the refinery will process locally mined gold into bullion instead of exporting it in its raw state.
According to him, it is unacceptable that Ghana, despite being a leading gold producer in Africa, continues to export raw gold known as dore.
He explained that the Gold Board, working with the Bank of Ghana and local refineries, will from October 2025 begin refining gold locally.
He also disclosed that an ultramodern assay laboratory will be built to ensure international standards in testing gold quality.
Mr Gyamfi noted that the refinery will be wholly state-owned and will help Ghana move away from raw mineral exports to value addition.
This, he said, will boost foreign exchange earnings, create jobs, and position Ghana as a hub for gold refining and jewellery production in Africa.
The CEO stressed that the project forms part of government’s strategy to ensure the country benefits fully from its natural resources and to transform the mining sector into a driver of economic growth.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Photos from the High-Level Event on Reparatory Justice for the trafficking of enslaved Africans and the racialised chattel enslavement of African people, convened at the United Nations Headquarters, New York.
Delivering a powerful address, President John Dramani Mahama underscored the moral urgency of confronting historical injustices and advancing a global commitment to reparatory justice.
“The entire transatlantic slave trade was designed to deny African people their humanity,” the President stated.
Highlighting the significance of ongoing international efforts, he added:“This resolution allows us, as a global community, to collectively bear witness to the plight of the 18 million men, women, and children whose homes, communities, names, families, hopes, dreams, futures, and lives were stolen from them over the course of four centuries.”
In reaffirming the enduring truth of justice, President Mahama noted:
“Just because everybody is doing something doesn’t make it right. Slavery is wrong now, and it was wrong then. For as long as Africans have been trafficked and enslaved, there have been abolitionists who have spoken up against it.”
He further called for a deeper reflection on identity and dignity:
“We must also remember to reclaim our own humanity… when we absorb too much of the language of violence and erasure, our minds become enslaved.”
A member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Beatrice Siaw, has expressed mixed views about Ghana’s current leadership, saying she admires President John Dramani Mahama but is not fully satisfied with how the country is being governed.
Speaking in an interview on Metro TV on Tuesday, she said although she belongs to the NPP, she finds it difficult to criticise the President personally.
“I admire President Mahama, so it’s hard to speak against him. But I do love my party. I am impressed with the President, not necessarily impressed with how things are going” she said.
She acknowledged that the NDC has made efforts in managing the economy and improving some key indicators. She noted that the party appears determined to prove critics wrong after previously being voted out of office.
“They are trying to do a lot of things that Ghanaians thought they couldn’t do when they were in power,” she said.
However, she was quick to add that these efforts may not necessarily translate into electoral success in the next election cycle.
When asked whether the NDC’s performance could pose a strong challenge in 2028, she said she does not believe so, although she admitted there have been some improvements in certain areas.
“In some aspects, yes,” she said when asked if she had been impressed by the government’s performance.
By: Jacob Aggrey
