Ghana Gold Board Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi has toured the Royal Ghana Gold Refinery in Accra as part of ongoing steps toward a refining services agreement that would deepen in-country processing of locally purchased gold.
The visit, conducted on Monday, April 27, 2026, forms part of the Ghana Gold Board’s (GoldBod) broader push to support the government’s local value addition agenda and ensure that Ghana captures greater economic returns from its mineral wealth before export. Gyamfi was conducted around the facility by its Chief Executive Officer, Eric Santeng, and Production Manager Rakess Kumar.
The inspection covered key operational areas including the receiving bay, smelting room, and assay laboratory. Gyamfi was also introduced to major refining equipment: the X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) machine used for gold purity testing, the Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) analytical system, the furnace, and the bar casting machine.
Speaking after the tour, Gyamfi said he was satisfied with the refinery’s preparedness, noting that the facility already possessed most of the essential machinery required for full-scale refining operations. He added, however, that GoldBod’s technical consultant had recommended the acquisition of a few additional pieces of equipment before a formal partnership agreement could be finalised.
The GoldBod CEO tied the proposed partnership directly to a presidential directive. “By 2030, no mineral should leave Ghana in its raw form,” he said, describing local value addition as central to President John Dramani Mahama’s economic agenda. Gyamfi said GoldBod had been directed to ensure that gold purchased from the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector is refined into gold bars domestically before export, rather than being shipped out in unprocessed form.
He disclosed that President Mahama has expressed particular interest in seeing Royal Ghana Gold Refinery reach full operational capacity, adding strategic weight to the potential partnership. Gyamfi urged the refinery’s management to implement the technical consultant’s recommendations promptly, with a view to signing the refining services agreement within the coming weeks.
He also stressed that employment creation and skills development must be embedded in the refinery’s operations, describing both as government priorities alongside industrial growth.
The proposed agreement, if concluded, would add Royal Ghana Gold Refinery to the country’s expanding network of domestic gold processing facilities. GoldBod signed a separate refining agreement with Gold Coast Refinery in January 2026, under which locally purchased ASM gold is already being refined into bars for export.
