A 15-member delegation from the Tanzanian Minerals Commission on Tuesday, January 20, paid a study visit to the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) to gain insights into the entity’s operations and Ghana’s regulatory framework for the precious minerals sector.

According to the delegation, the visit was aimed at understanding Ghana’s gold-buying system and regulatory regime as part of efforts to modernise Tanzania’s minerals management sector.

The leader of the delegation, Dr. Theresia Numbi said Ghana was deliberately selected after a comparative assessment of countries to learn from.

“We had the opportunity to go abroad, but in line with local content considerations, we chose to learn from an African country. Ghana is a pioneer and a centre of excellence in Africa,” she said, adding that the visit would allow both sides to share experiences and best practices.

The delegation was received at GoldBod by the Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Richard Nunekpeku, Esq., who welcomed the team and provided an overview of the Board’s mandate and operations.

He thanked the delegation for choosing Ghana for what he described as learning, peer review, and experience sharing.

He explained that GoldBod was established through an Act of Parliament and operates under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140).

Mr. Nunekpeku noted that GoldBod’s core mandates include supporting reserve accumulation and generating foreign exchange for the country, positioning the institution as both a natural resource management and an economic agency.

He explained that the establishment of GoldBod was driven by the need to formalise Ghana’s gold sector, which had operated largely informally for many years, particularly within the small-scale mining segment.

As part of this formalisation agenda, he said licensing for gold buying, refining, and jewellery fabrication had been restricted to Ghanaians, in line with provisions of the GoldBod Act.

He further took the delegation through Ghana’s licensing regime, outlining the four main licensing categories available under the framework.

The Deputy CEO also highlighted that GoldBod’s formalisation efforts had significantly reduced the influx of foreign actors in the gold sector, a challenge that had previously undermined local participation and regulatory oversight.

He acknowledged that formalising a historically informal sector had not been without challenges but noted that the Board’s work within less than a year of its establishment had yielded notable results.

Members of the Tanzanian delegation engaged Mr. Nunekpeku on a range of issues, including GoldBod’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, foreign financing of mining activities, pricing mechanisms, and the payment of royalties.

He responded to the questions by sharing Ghana’s experiences and the strategies adopted to address sector challenges.

The delegation expressed satisfaction with the engagement and commended GoldBod for its openness and depth of engagement.

Officials present at the meeting included GoldBod’s Director for Mining Operations, Dr. James German; Director for Environmental Sustainability Goals, Prof. Ishmael Quaicoe; and Director for Corporate Affairs, Dr. Ernest Odei.