Ghana Shocks Market: Locals, Foreigners Banned from Gold
Ghana Bans Individuals and Foreigners from Local Gold Trade Starting May 1, 2025: GoldBod Takes Full Control
The Ghanaian government will formally forbid citizens and foreigners from engaging in the local gold trading sector as of May 1, 2025. The recently formed Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) announced this important change, which is a daring reform meant to control artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASM) activities nationwide. The GoldBod now has sole control over the purchasing, selling, assaying, and exporting of all gold extracted by authorized small-scale miners in accordance with the Ghana Gold Board Act (Act 1140), which was approved by Parliament on March 29 and signed into law by the President on April 2, 2025. In essence, this action unifies the ASM gold market under a single regulating agency.
This law nullifies licenses previously granted by the Minister of Mines or the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), with the exception of those granted to major mining corporations. The GoldBod has allowed current license holders to continue trading gold until April 30, 2025, in order to facilitate a seamless transition. Only the GoldBod and its authorized affiliates are permitted to conduct business in the gold market after this date. Foreigners who are currently dealing gold in Ghana have till the end of April to get out of the business. They must formally apply to purchase gold directly from GoldBod under stringent criteria if they want to keep working in the industry.
Any person or business trading in gold without a current license issued by GoldBod will be illegal as of May 1. The license application procedure will start on April 22, 2025, and Ghanaians or fully-owned Ghanaian businesses who want to remain in the industry must reapply through the GoldBod platform. Additionally, transactions will only be made in Ghanaian cedis, utilizing the reference rate set by the Bank of Ghana. This program is a component of a larger national plan to stabilize the Ghanaian cedi, increase foreign exchange reserves, and stop illegal gold exports.
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