Gold refining in Ghana more expensive than abroad – Kenneth Ashigbey

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines and Convenor of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining, Kenneth Ashigbey, has disclosed that it currently costs more to refine gold in Ghana than abroad.

He explained that the high cost of refining locally is driven by several factors, including the cost of power, taxes on chemicals imported into the country and the expense involved in treating industrial waste.

According to him on Joy news on Wednesday August 27, 2026 these challenges make it difficult for Ghanaian refineries to compete with refineries in other countries.

Mr Ashigbey noted that the issue of economies of scale also affects the cost of refining, stressing that countries with larger refining operations can spread their costs over higher volumes of gold.

He, however, indicated that discussions are already underway between the GoldBod and the Ministry of Finance on measures to make Ghana’s refineries more competitive.

He believes Ghana should position itself as a regional hub for gold refining rather than focus only on gold produced within the country.

“The whole issue of beneficiation and value addition, we cannot look at it as a country-specific thing. It has to be a regional thing,” he noted.

Mr Ashigbey explained that Ghana could attract gold from other countries within the sub-region if its refineries become more efficient and cost-effective.

He therefore called for improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of local refineries, as well as government incentives to reduce the cost of refining and encourage more companies to refine their gold in Ghana.

He stressed that making local refining competitive would be important to Ghana’s efforts to retain more value from its gold resources.

By: Jacob Aggrey