The Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) plans to develop and run its own mines on behalf of the state and give host communities equity stakes, chief executive Sammy Gyamfi has said.
Gyamfi told the National House of Chiefs in the Ashanti Region on Friday that the government wanted to move beyond buying gold from private producers and operate its own mines through the agency.
He said host communities would hold ownership in any GOLDBOD mine through their traditional authorities as a free-carried interest, putting the proposed community share at between 10 and 20 percent.
The plan builds on a 27.5 million cedi agreement GOLDBOD signed with the Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GGSA) to investigate three mineralised zones at Funsi, Atuna and Bensere East. Those areas form part of 20 blocks released to GOLDBOD by the Minerals Commission. Gyamfi said the surveys would identify commercially viable deposits and allow the country to mine responsibly.
According to Gyamfi, traditional leaders in some areas had welcomed the work while others declined, underscoring the agency’s stated need for local consent before any mining begins.
The push has drawn scrutiny. Juaben Member of Parliament Francis Owusu-Akyaw has questioned whether GOLDBOD’s founding law allows it to operate mines or hold concessions, arguing the agency was created to buy, assay and export gold rather than to mine.
GOLDBOD, established under Act 1140 in 2025, is the sole state authority for buying and exporting gold. It says the geological work is intended to support responsible, data-driven model mines.
