Goldbod secures airport land for laboratory and refinery

The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has secured a 0.6 acre parcel of land at the cargo village of the Kotoka International Airport for an ultra-mordern ISO certified Assay laboratory and a state-owned gold refinery.

The intervention is part of efforts to add value by changing Ghana’s assay regime from XRF and water density to the golden standard of fire assay for all gold produced or exported from the country.

The international standard gold refinery, when completed, would also improve the local refining capacity of gold, transitioning Ghana from the export of doré (semi pure alloy of gold and silver) to bullion.

Mr Sammy Gyamfi, the Chief Executive Officer of the GoldBod, made this known when he addressed participants at the Mining and Minerals Convention 2025 on Tuesday.

He indicated that the GoldBod, in conjunction with the Bank of Ghana, is partnering local refineries such as the Gold Coast Refinery to begin the local refining of gold purchased and exported by the GoldBod.

This comes at a time when the board has started the local purchase of 20 per cent of the gold output of seven large scale mining companies in the country.

“Let me commend the Chamber of Mines for expressing their willingness to work with us to ensure the local refining of gold produced by large scale mining firms in the country,” he said.

Mr Yusif Sulemana, the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, observed that despite the abundance of mineral resources, Ghana continued to grapple with infrastructure development challenges, especially in mining areas.

He said it was high time the country dealt with mining challenges caused by inadequate value addition and local investment.

Also, the illegal deployment of unsustainable mining methods and technologies, which had had negative impact on the environment must be looked at, the deputy minister noted.

He said the government was undertaking strategic steps to align with global best practices.

This includes a comprehensive review of the miners and mining act and the minerals and mining policy through extensive stakeholder engagement.

“The time has come for us to change the narrative. The future begins today and it starts with us,” he said.

Source: GNA

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