Ghana Bans Export of Unrefined Gold Bullion Starting September 1

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Starting September 1, the Gold Board of Ghana (GoldBod) has officially implemented new regulations for local gold refining. All gold bullion purchased by Self-Financing Aggregators (SFAs) through arrangements with approved offtakers must be refined within Ghana before export. GoldBod will no longer approve export applications for unrefined gold bullion, and refining must be carried out at refineries approved or designated by GoldBod.

The new rules, issued by GoldBod's Compliance Department on August 24, apply to gold purchase and export arrangements between SFAs and approved offtakers. Existing offtake agreements and related commercial arrangements must be amended by August 31 to explicitly include a clause requiring "local refining in Ghana before export." GoldBod may require companies to submit proof of agreement amendments at any time and reserves the right to designate specific refineries.

Refining costs shall be borne by the SFA or its approved offtaker in accordance with their commercial arrangements and must be paid or settled before the refined gold is exported. Effective September 1, GoldBod will only process export applications after confirming that the gold has been refined in Ghana, related refining costs have been settled, and assay, regulatory, and export requirements have been met.

The local refining requirement has been incorporated into SFA license conditions. Exporting or attempting to export unrefined gold bullion will constitute a breach of license conditions, and GoldBod may impose regulatory measures including refusal or suspension of export approvals, suspension or revocation of licenses, and administrative penalties. This requirement is implemented pursuant to the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140) and operates in conjunction with GoldBod's offtaker admission and trading guidelines issued on July 13.

Effective the same day, Ghana has also introduced new gold purity testing regulations. GoldBod and all its licensed gold buyers must adopt X-ray fluorescence (XRF) testing as the standard for determining gold bullion purity, and the previous water displacement method will no longer serve as the final basis for purity determination. Licensed buyers are required to procure corresponding XRF equipment, train operators, and maintain testing records for each gold purchase.