The government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ghana Chamber of Mines to purchase 30 per cent of gold output from large scale mining companies, under the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Programme (GANRAP).
The agreement, approved by Parliament, will allow the Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) to buy that share of gold from large scale miners, which will then be processed and refined locally to build up the country's reserves. Government was represented at the signing by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana, while the Chamber of Mines represented the individual large scale mining companies.
The signing followed negotiations among government, the chamber, mining companies, the central bank and GoldBod, and marked the formal start of the policy, effective Thursday, August 13, 2026.
Announcing the deal, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson said the signing confirmed that all parties had reached a mutual understanding that the policy would take effect from the date of signing. He thanked the Chamber of Mines and participating mining companies for their cooperation, describing the arrangement as the building of an economic buffer that would help shield the country from external shocks, stabilise the cedi and secure its economic future.
Under the deal, gold will be purchased by the Bank of Ghana, with GoldBod facilitating its local processing and refining. The arrangement builds on a related agreement reached earlier in the year, under which each large scale mining company sells 30 per cent of its gold output to GoldBod locally, in doré form, at a discount of 0.55 per cent, with all purchases settled in Ghana cedis at the Bank of Ghana Reference Rate.
All doré gold acquired under the programme will be refined locally to maximise value retention, before being shipped to a London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) certified refinery for melting and stamping and then delivered to the Bank of Ghana as part of the country's gold reserves. The arrangement is designed to help Ghana secure LBMA accreditation for at least one local refinery by 2030, in line with President Mahama's broader goal of ending raw mineral exports by the same year.
The policy sits within the wider GANRAP framework, under which government is targeting reserves equivalent to 15 months of import cover by the end of 2028, an amount well above the internationally accepted benchmark for reserve adequacy, aimed at reducing the country's reliance on external borrowing and cushioning it against global financial shocks.
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Buah, thanked the chamber and its member companies for their cooperation, saying it reflected the mining industry's commitment to supporting macroeconomic stability, which he described as central to the country's economic development. He assured the chamber that his ministry would continue working with them to address any emerging issues as the programme is rolled out.
