GoldBod Orders Mandatory Local Refining of Gold Doré Before Export Effective September 1

The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has directed all Self-Financing Aggregators (SFAs) to refine gold doré in Ghana before exporting the refined gold, effective September 1, 2026.

The directive, issued by the GoldBod Compliance Directorate on August 24, 2026, forms part of the Board's mandate under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140) to regulate the purchase, sale, refining, value addition and export of gold in Ghana.

Under the new directive, SFAs must ensure that all gold doré purchased under arrangements with approved Offtakers is refined locally before export. Consequently, no unrefined gold doré will be approved for export from September 1.

GoldBod further requires every offtake agreement or commercial arrangement between an SFA and an approved Offtaker to expressly provide for the mandatory local refining of gold doré before export.

The Board said all refining must be undertaken at a refinery approved or designated by GoldBod, in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements.

GoldBod also reserves the right to determine the refinery at which particular gold is refined and to issue additional operational directives governing the process.

The cost of refining will be borne by the SFA or its approved Offtaker, according to their commercial arrangements, and must be paid or otherwise settled before the refined gold is exported.

As part of the implementation of the directive, all SFAs have been given until August 31, 2026, to amend existing offtake agreements and related commercial arrangements with approved Offtakers to incorporate the mandatory local refining requirement.

GoldBod said it may request evidence of such amendments at any time.

From September 1, export applications for gold doré will only be processed after GoldBod has confirmed that the gold has been refined in Ghana, applicable refining charges have been settled, and all assay, regulatory and export requirements have been met.

The directive forms part of the conditions of SFA licences. GoldBod warned that the export or attempted export of unrefined gold doré in breach of the directive will constitute a violation of the licence conditions.

Non-compliance could attract regulatory action, including refusal or suspension of export approvals, suspension or revocation of licences, administrative sanctions and other enforcement measures permitted under Act 1140, applicable regulations and GoldBod directives.

The directive is to be read together with the Guidelines for the Onboarding of Offtakers and the Conduct of Transactions with Offtakers, issued by GoldBod on July 13, 2026.