The Association of Small Scale Miners is urging stakeholders to look beyond the immediate operational costs of refining gold locally, arguing that the policy could create jobs and reduce youth unemployment.

Communication Director of the Association, Abdul Razak Alhassan, believes that the broader economic benefits of local refining must be considered alongside the costs faced by players in the gold industry.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Wednesday, he said the gold business already comes with significant operational challenges for miners.

“Yes, there’s a possibility. But in another angle that we need to look at is that gold itself, it is a commodity whereby there are so many challenges in it,” he said.

Mr Alhassan said industry players must assess the realities of the sector before entering the business.

“So sometimes you need to work on yourself; you need to weigh yourself before you enter into that industry. So the operational cost and everything, we as industry players, even to get the ore itself, you incur so many challenges or so many costs,” he added.

His comments come after the Ghana Gold Board directed Self-Financing Aggregators to refine gold doré locally before exporting it.

The directive takes effect from September 1, 2026. It means unrefined gold doré will no longer be approved for export by GoldBod.

Under the directive, the refining must be done at a refinery approved or designated by GoldBod. The cost will be borne by the Self-Financing Aggregator or its approved offtaker.

GoldBod says the measure is intended to deepen local value addition in Ghana’s gold industry. It forms part of its mandate under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025, to regulate the purchase, sale, refining, value addition and export of gold.

But while the new requirement could increase costs for operators, Mr Alhassan believes the potential employment opportunities should not be ignored.

“So if they are also taking the other side of it, I don’t think there should be any big deal,” he said.

He argued that the policy could benefit the wider economy by creating jobs for young people.

“So I think the cost shouldn’t be anything, because it will also help the country and then youth unemployment will also reduce,” he said.

According to him, the expected employment opportunities from the refinery make it necessary to assess the policy beyond its immediate financial burden.

“Because when this refinery kicks off, as my other colleague said, they have some number of people, youth, that they will employ,” he said.

Mr Alhassan therefore wants the cost of refining weighed against the potential economic and social gains.

“So we should look at the balance. While they are looking at the cost, yes, the operational cost may be higher, but we should also consider how we are handling these two issues. And I think they have to bear the cost,” he said.

GoldBod has been pushing a broader local refining agenda as part of efforts to retain more value from Ghana’s gold resources.

Earlier this year, it reached an agreement with Gold Coast Refinery to process gold locally, targeting the refining of one tonne of gold weekly.