The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, has today, Monday, April 27, toured the Royal Ghana Gold Refinery.

The tour forms part of ongoing processes toward the signing of a refining services agreement aimed at advancing local value addition in Ghana’s gold sector.

It is also part of GoldBod’s broader strategy to support the local value addition agenda of the government and ensure that Ghana derives greater economic benefit from its mineral resources through in-country refining.

Mr. Gyamfi was taken around the facility by the Chief Executive Officer of Royal Ghana Gold Refinery, Eric Santeng, together with the refinery’s Production Manager, Rakess Kumar.

The tour included inspections of key operational areas such as the receiving bay, smelting room, assay laboratory, and other critical sections of the refinery.

During the inspection, the GoldBod CEO was introduced to major refining equipment including the XRF machine, ICP system, furnace, and bar casting machine, among others used in the gold refining process.

Speaking after the tour, Mr. Gyamfi expressed satisfaction with the refinery’s level of preparedness, stating that the facility possesses most of the essential machinery required to commence full-scale refining operations.

He noted, however, that based on recommendations from GoldBod’s technical consultant, the refinery would need to strengthen its operational capacity with a few additional pieces of equipment to fully meet the required standard for the proposed partnership.

According to Mr. Gyamfi, the move aligns with the vision of President John Dramani Mahama to ensure that Ghana’s mineral resources are processed locally before export.

He explained that President Mahama has made local value addition a central part of his economic agenda, with the long-term goal of ending the export of raw minerals from Ghana by 2030.

“The President’s vision is clear; by 2030, no mineral should leave Ghana in its raw form. We must refine and add value here at home so that the country benefits more from its natural resources,” he stated.

Mr. Gyamfi added that GoldBod has therefore been directed to partner with local refineries to ensure that gold purchased from the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector is refined into gold bars before export, rather than being shipped out in raw form.

He further disclosed that the President is particularly interested in seeing the full operationalisation of Royal Ghana Gold Refinery, making the potential partnership with GoldBod both strategic and timely.

The GoldBod CEO urged the management of the refinery to implement the recommendations of the technical consultant swiftly to enable the signing of the refining services agreement in the coming weeks.

He also stressed the importance of creating employment opportunities for Ghanaians through the refinery’s operations, noting that skills development and job creation remain key priorities of the government.

The proposed partnership is expected to strengthen Ghana’s gold value chain, promote industrial growth, and position the country to capture greater value from its gold exports.