The management of Gold Coast Refinery has planned a collaboration with the Minerals Commission to increase the volumes of gold refined in Ghana. Dr Said Deraz, Chief Executive of the company, explained that the collaboration was to ensure an effective plan that would also increase Ghana's receipts from the precious metal. He has consequently encouraged the Minerals Commission to speed up processes for the drafting of a policy to increase local refining of gold. He said Gold Coast Refinery, as Africa's second-largest gold refinery, nhad the capacity to improve Ghana's refined gold stock to increase the country's revenues from the mineral resource. Even though Ghana is currently Africa's biggest producer of gold, almost all of the gold mined in the country are exported in the raw state. In 2018 for instance, almost all of the nearly five million ounces of gold mined in Ghana were exported in the raw form. Dr Deraz nonetheless argued that Ghana could reverse the situation and improve earnings from the sector by empowering local refining of Ghana's gold. "We have the capacity in terms of the technology and human resource to refine gold locally," he said. "This will increase Ghana's revenue from the sector and increase the direct benefits from gold mining," he added. The Board Chairman of the Minerals Commission, Rev. S. K. Boafo, last year bemoaned the lack of value addition to Ghana's Gold and hinted that the commission was working on a document to improve and add value to gold produced in the country. Dr Deraz said such a policy was long overdue because it would impact the local economy hugely. "You can imagine how much more Ghana would make from gold if that kind of policy becomes operational. Think about the employment avenues, the increased revenue from gold, the valuable by-products that will be gotten from it," he said. Indeed, silver, platinum, palladium and copper are valuable by-products of refined gold, all of which are still substantial revenue sources of the mining business.