Ghana Gold Board bans export of unrefined gold doré from September 1

The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has directed all Self-Financing Aggregators (SFAs) to ensure that gold doré purchased under arrangements with approved offtakers is refined in Ghana before export.

The directive, issued by GoldBod’s Compliance Directorate on August 24, 2026, takes effect on September 1, 2026.

Under the directive, no gold doré may be exported in its unrefined state. GoldBod said all offtake agreements and commercial arrangements between SFAs and approved offtakers must expressly provide for the mandatory local refining of gold before export.

Gold must also be refined only at a refinery approved or designated by GoldBod. The Board said it reserves the right to determine the refinery where any gold is refined and to issue additional operational directives on the refining process.

The refining cost will be borne by the SFA or approved offtaker, based on their commercial arrangements, and must be paid or settled before the refined gold is exported.

GoldBod has given SFAs until August 31, 2026, to amend existing offtake agreements and related commercial arrangements to incorporate the mandatory local refining requirement.

From September 1, GoldBod will process export requests only after confirming that the gold has been refined locally, applicable refining charges have been settled, and all assay, regulatory and export requirements have been met.

GoldBod warned that exporting or attempting to export unrefined gold doré will constitute a breach of SFA licence conditions and could result in regulatory action, including refusal or suspension of export approvals, suspension or revocation of licences, administrative sanctions or other enforcement measures.

The directive was issued pursuant to the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), and is to be read together with GoldBod’s July 13, 2026, guidelines on the onboarding of offtakers and the conduct of transactions with offtakers.