GoldBod bans export of unrefined gold dore, effective 1st September

The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has directed all Self-Financing Aggregators (SFAs) to refine gold doré locally before it can be exported from Ghana, in a move aimed at deepening value addition and retaining more economic benefits from the country's gold industry.

The directive is contained in a compliance notice dated August 24, 2026, and takes effect on September 1, 2026. It applies to all SFAs and their approved offtakers.

Under the new regime, SFAs will no longer be permitted to export gold doré in its unrefined form. Every offtake agreement or commercial arrangement between an SFA and an approved offtaker must expressly provide for the gold to be refined in Ghana before export.

The policy forms part of GoldBod's regulatory mandate under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), which gives the Board responsibility for regulating the purchase, sale, refining, value addition and export of gold in Ghana.

GoldBod has directed that all refining must be undertaken at a refinery approved or designated by the Board and in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements.

The Board has also reserved the right to determine the refinery to be used for particular gold consignments and to issue additional operational directives governing the refining process.

The requirement gives GoldBod greater oversight of the processing stage of the gold value chain before consignments leave Ghana.

The cost of refining will be borne either by the SFA or its approved offtaker, depending on the commercial arrangement between the parties.

GoldBod said the applicable refining charges must be paid or otherwise settled before the refined gold is exported.

The directive also affects existing commercial arrangements between SFAs and approved international offtakers.

GoldBod has instructed all SFAs to review their existing offtake agreements and amend them to incorporate the mandatory local refining requirement.

The amendments must be completed by August 31, 2026, one day before the new export requirement takes effect.

The Board said it reserves the right to request evidence of the amendments at any time.

From September 1, GoldBod will only process export requests after confirming that the gold has been refined in Ghana, the applicable refining charges have been settled and all relevant assay, regulatory and export requirements have been satisfied.

GoldBod has warned operators that exporting, or attempting to export, unrefined gold doré will constitute a breach of the conditions of an SFA licence.

Non-compliant operators could face a range of regulatory sanctions, including:

• Refusal or suspension of export approvals;
• Suspension or revocation of licences;
• Administrative sanctions; and
• Other enforcement measures permitted under the Ghana Gold Board Act, applicable regulations and GoldBod directives.

The warning places SFAs and their approved offtakers under a clear obligation to ensure that their commercial and operational arrangements comply with the new refining requirement before seeking export approval.

The latest directive represents another step by GoldBod to strengthen regulation of Ghana's gold trade and increase the amount of value retained within the domestic economy.

Gold doré is partially refined gold that requires further processing before it reaches the purity standards associated with refined bullion. Requiring this process to take place in Ghana could support greater domestic participation in refining and other activities linked to the gold value chain.

The policy also gives GoldBod increased oversight of the movement of gold from aggregation and purchase through refining and eventual export.

For the country's gold sector, the directive signals a stronger emphasis on value addition before export, rather than allowing gold to leave Ghana in a partially processed form.

With the new requirement scheduled to take effect on September 1, 2026, SFAs and their approved offtakers have until August 31 to bring their existing commercial arrangements into compliance.