The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has directed all Self-Financing Aggregators (SFAs) to have gold doré refined locally before it is exported from Ghana.
The directive, contained in a compliance notice dated August 24, 2026, will take effect on September 1, 2026, and applies to all SFAs and their approved offtakers.
Under the new requirement, SFAs will no longer be allowed to export gold doré in its unrefined state. All offtake agreements or commercial arrangements between SFAs and approved offtakers must therefore include a provision requiring the gold to be refined in Ghana before export.
GoldBod said the measure forms part of its mandate under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), which empowers the Board to regulate the purchase, sale, refining, value addition and export of gold in the country.
The Board said the refining must be undertaken at a refinery approved or designated by GoldBod and in line with relevant regulatory requirements.
GoldBod also reserves the right to determine which refinery should handle specific gold consignments and to issue further operational guidelines on the refining process.
The cost of refining will be borne either by the SFA or its approved offtaker, depending on the terms of their commercial agreement.
According to GoldBod, all applicable refining charges must be paid or otherwise settled before the refined gold can be exported.
The directive further requires SFAs to review their existing arrangements with approved offtakers and amend all current offtake agreements by August 31, 2026, to reflect the mandatory local refining requirement.
GoldBod said it may request evidence of the amendments at any time as part of its compliance monitoring.
Effective September 1, the Board will only process export applications after confirming that the gold has been refined in Ghana, the required refining charges have been settled, and all applicable assay, regulatory and export conditions have been satisfied.
GoldBod warned that the export or attempted export of unrefined gold doré will amount to a breach of the conditions attached to an SFA licence.
Operators who fail to comply could face regulatory sanctions, including the refusal or suspension of export approvals, suspension or revocation of licences, administrative penalties and other enforcement measures provided for under the Ghana Gold Board Act, relevant regulations and GoldBod directives.
The latest directive forms part of GoldBod’s broader efforts to tighten regulation of Ghana’s gold trade and increase the amount of value retained in the domestic economy by ensuring that gold undergoes refining and value addition locally before export.
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