The role of GoldBod in promoting sustainable mining practices

By Theophilus AMOAH & Prince Ofosuhene GYIMAH

Ghana’s gold mining sector, while economically vital, has faced significant sustainability challenges due to illegal small-scale mining (galamsey), which has caused environmental degradation, water pollution and social inequities. In response, the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has been established as a centralised regulatory authority to transform the sector.

Under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025, GoldBod now oversees all gold trading, assaying, refining and exportation, ensuring transparency and responsible sourcing. Monopolising the legal gold trade, GoldBod has drastically reduced smuggling, recovering over 90 percent of artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) gold and generating US$4billion in export revenue from February to May 2025 alone.

The board is also pursuing London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) certification, which would align Ghana’s gold exports with international ethical and environmental standards, enhancing market credibility. Additionally, GoldBod has introduced a digital traceability system to track gold from mine to export, ensuring that only legally sourced gold enters the market.

Beyond regulation, GoldBod is actively promoting environmental restoration and community development. The board has committed to reclaiming 10,000 hectares of degraded land and is investing in mercury-free mining technologies to comply with the Minamata Convention. Through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, GoldBod also seeks to support education, healthcare and infrastructure in mining communities, including building schools, potable water systems and alternative livelihood programmes.

Furthermore, GoldBod is training artisanal miners in sustainable mining techniques and organising them into cooperatives to integrate them into the formal economy. These efforts aim to balance economic growth with ecological preservation, ensuring that Ghana’s gold wealth benefits both present and future generations.

Regulating and formalising the gold trade

The GoldBod, as the sole regulatory body overseeing gold trading, assaying and exportation, has introduced stringent licensing requirements for all market participants, including gold buyers, aggregators and exporters. This centralised approach ensures that every transaction adheres to international responsible sourcing standards, significantly reducing illegal mining activities and illicit financial flows.

By consolidating the gold trade under a single regulatory framework, GoldBod has made it increasingly difficult for unlicensed operators to thrive, thereby curbing smuggling and ensuring that more revenue from Ghana’s gold resources remains within the national economy.

A key component of GoldBod strategy is its pursuit of London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) certification, which serves as a global benchmark for ethical and sustainable gold sourcing. Achieving this certification would require Ghana’s gold exports to meet rigorous environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, including responsible mining practices, fair labour conditions and minimal ecological impact.

This move is expected to elevate Ghana’s standing in international markets, making its gold more attractive to ethical investors and premium buyers who prioritise sustainability. Furthermore, LBMA certification would open doors to higher-value markets, where responsibly sourced gold commands premium pricing.

By aligning with these global standards, GoldBod is not only enhancing Ghana’s reputation as a leader in sustainable mining but also ensuring long-term economic benefits for the nation and its mining communities.

To reinforce these efforts, GoldBod has implemented a digital tracking system that monitors gold from extraction to export, ensuring full traceability and compliance with legal and environmental regulations. This system helps identify and eliminate loopholes that previously allowed illegally mined gold to enter the supply chain.

Integrating technology with regulatory oversight, GoldBod is setting a new standard for transparency in Ghana’s gold sector, one that could serve as a model for other resource-rich African nations. Through these comprehensive measures, GoldBod is not just formalising the gold trade but also laying the foundation for a more sustainable, ethical and profitable mining industry in Ghana.

Promoting environmental sustainability

At the heart of GoldBod mission lies a strong commitment to environmental stewardship, particularly through its landmark 10,000-hectare land reclamation initiative. This ambitious programme, developed in partnership with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, represents one of West Africa’s largest coordinated efforts to rehabilitate mining-degraded landscapes.

The project employs cutting-edge bioremediation techniques and sustainable land-use planning to transform abandoned mining sites into productive agricultural land, community spaces and, in some cases, restored natural habitats. Through strategic collaborations with private sector partners and environmental NGOs, GoldBod is implementing site-specific rehabilitation plans that address soil contamination, water pollution and biodiversity loss – the most pressing environmental challenges caused by irresponsible mining practices.

Complementing its reclamation efforts, GoldBod has pioneered the implementation of a blockchain-enabled track-and-trace system that creates an immutable digital record of every gold shipment journey from mine to market. This innovative solution does more than just verify legal sourcing – it establishes a comprehensive environmental audit trail that documents compliance with sustainability standards at each production stage. The system’s geofencing capabilities are particularly effective in combating illegal mining operations by detecting and reporting unauthorised excavator use in protected areas.

Furthermore, GoldBod has integrated satellite monitoring and AI-powered image analysis to provide real-time surveillance of mining sites, enabling swift intervention when environmental violations occur. These technological interventions are supported by rigorous capacity-building programmes that train local miners in environmentally responsible techniques, creating a culture of sustainability that extends beyond regulatory compliance to genuine environmental stewardship.

Community engagement and economic empowerment

GoldBod commitment to sustainable mining extends beyond regulation to actively uplifting mining communities through economic inclusion and capacity building. Formalising Ghana’s artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, GoldBod has dismantled exploitative informal networks, replacing them with a transparent licensing framework that connects miners directly to formal markets.

This system ensures fair pricing, miners now receive up to 98 percent of the international market value for their gold, a significant increase from the 60–70 percent previously offered by unlicensed middlemen. The licensing regime also integrates digital payment systems, reducing cash-based transactions and ensuring timely compensation for miners.

This financial formalisation has already boosted local economies, with small-scale gold exports surging to US$5billion in the first half of 2025, directly benefitting over 1 million Ghanaians employed in the ASM sector.

Recognising that long-term sustainability requires skill development, GoldBod has launched targeted training programmes to modernise artisanal mining. These initiatives teach safer techniques, such as mercury-free gold processing (aligned with the Minamata Convention), and introduce efficient technologies like portable crushers and gravity concentrators.

To amplify impact, GoldBod collaborates with NGOs and mining firms like Newmont Ahafo, leveraging their CSR expertise to deliver community-centric programmes. For instance, partnerships have facilitated vocational training in agriculture and renewable energy, offering alternative livelihoods to mitigate post-mining economic shocks. Women miners, who often face systemic barriers, are prioritised in these programmes, with dedicated cooperatives enabling access to microloans and equipment leases.

GoldBod model mirrors international best practices in stakeholder engagement, as seen in Newmont Ahafo’s CSR initiatives, which emphasise community consultation and shared-value projects like building schools and health clinics.

By adopting a similar participatory approach, GoldBod ensures that its policies reflect local needs, for example, allocating a portion of export revenues to community development funds for infrastructure and education.

These efforts not only enhance social license to operate but also align with Ghana’s broader goals under the African Mining Vision, which advocates for mineral resources to drive inclusive growth. Through this multifaceted strategy, combining market access, education and CSR partnerships, GoldBod is transforming Ghana’s ASM sector into a pillar of equitable and environmentally responsible development. The results are tangible: reduced illegal mining, increased household incomes and stronger community trust in the mining value chain.

Conclusion

GoldBod represents a transformative approach to gold mining in Ghana, successfully balancing economic growth with environmental protection and social equity. Through its comprehensive regulatory framework, innovative traceability systems and ambitious land reclamation projects, GoldBod has established Ghana as a leader in responsible mineral resource management.

The board achievements – from recovering 90 percent of ASM gold to generating billions in export revenue – demonstrate how centralised governance can combat illegal mining while boosting national prosperity.

By pursuing LBMA certification and implementing cutting-edge technologies like blockchain tracking, GoldBod ensures Ghana’s gold meets the highest international standards for ethical sourcing, creating new opportunities in premium global markets.

Looking ahead, GoldBod community-focused initiatives promise lasting benefits for Ghana’s mining regions. The board’s investments in education, alternative livelihoods and women’s empowerment are creating a more inclusive mining sector that benefits all stakeholders.

As GoldBod continues to formalise artisanal mining and rehabilitate degraded lands, it is building a sustainable model that other resource-rich nations could emulate. With ongoing government support and private sector collaboration, GoldBod’s vision of a transparent, environmentally sound and socially responsible gold industry is becoming a reality – ensuring Ghana’s mineral wealth delivers shared prosperity for generations to come.

Theophilus is the Director of GreeNAC Consult, an environmental management and climate change resilience advisory service in Ghana and across West Africa..

Email: [email protected]

Prince  is a Sustainability and Environmental Practitioner with over six years of experience in Ghana’s upstream petroleum industry.

He can be reached via this email; [email protected]

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