Malawi Delegation Seeks Lessons from GoldBod’s Gold-Sector Reforms

A delegation from Malawi, led by Minister for Mines Honourable Thokozani Tembo, has engaged the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) to learn from Ghana’s gold-sector reforms, particularly in licensing, pricing, formalisation and efforts to combat smuggling.

The engagement provided an opportunity for the delegation to examine GoldBod’s regulatory framework and understand how Ghana is organising its gold-trading industry to maximise foreign-exchange earnings and retain greater value from its mineral resources.

Honourable Tembo explained that Malawi was seeking practical lessons from Ghana’s experience to avoid challenges associated with developing a gold industry without effective purchasing and regulatory systems.

The delegation expressed particular interest in addressing price disparities between official purchasing channels and informal buyers, which contribute to gold smuggling.

GoldBod’s Director of Responsible Mining and Sustainability, Professor Ishmael Quaicoe, explained that the establishment of the Board under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), consolidated key gold-trading functions previously distributed among several institutions.

He said the arrangement had created a more coordinated system, with GoldBod responsible for the gold-trading value chain, including purchasing, assaying, refining and exporting, while the Minerals Commission retains responsibility for regulating mining operations.

Professor Quaicoe outlined GoldBod’s four-tier licensing system, which accommodates grassroots buying agents, regional buyers, aggregators and self-financed aggregators.

He said the framework was designed to bring market participants into a structured regulatory system while strengthening oversight of gold transactions.

He also highlighted the Board’s standardised pricing framework, based on London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) benchmarks and Ghana’s interbank exchange rate, to improve transparency and consistency in domestic gold trading.

On enforcement, Professor Quaicoe said GoldBod monitors licensed operators through inspections of transaction records, receipts, declared gold volumes and purchasing prices. Discrepancies can trigger investigations into possible diversion of gold from official channels.

Highlighting the economic impact of the reforms, he cited approximately 104 tonnes of artisanal and small-scale gold mobilised in 2025, generating about US$10.8 billion in gross export proceeds.

The figures demonstrated the contribution of the sector to Ghana’s export performance and the importance of formalising gold trading.

The discussions also examined the role of commercial banks in financing gold purchases and supporting regulated trading arrangements.

The Malawian delegation was also given the opportunity to ask questions and engage further, for which they were provided answers and clarifications from Directors that the questions concerned. 

The engagement underscored the value of African cooperation and knowledge-sharing as Malawi explores regulatory and institutional approaches suited to its own gold industry.

For GoldBod, the visit provided an opportunity to share Ghana’s experience in strengthening oversight, formalising gold trading and improving the economic benefits derived from mineral resources.