Earlier this year, the Ghanaian government announced a scheme to buy 127 tonnes of gold from “artisanal” and small-scale mining (ASM) operations to boost reserves and stem smuggling. Now the government is asking large-scale miners in the country to sell 30 percent of their annual output to the Bank of Ghana to boost gold reserves. That’s up from the 20 percent required by an agreement hammered out between miners and the Ghana Chamber of Mines in 2022.
Bank of Ghana gold management program head Paul Bleboo announced the new plan last week.
“This time, we intend to negotiate for 30 percent of annual production [from industrial miners] … with the entire 30 percent to be delivered in doré form.”
Doré is semi-refined ore containing 80 to 90 percent gold.
According to Bleboo, miners fell short of the 20 percent commitment by about half last year, as industrial miners delivered roughly 10 tonnes against declared production of about 100 tonnes.
Miners are required to sell to the central bank at a “less than 1 percent” discount. Bleboo said the discount was “necessary,” reflecting refining, freight, and purity costs. He said it should be “treated as the cost of building reserves.”
However, Ghana Chamber of Mines CEO Kenneth Ashigbey said negotiations regarding pricing and discounts are “not straightforward,” adding that they have not reached any agreement with the central bank
Ghana ranks as Africa’s top gold producer and the world’s sixth largest. In 2024, the country produced around 4.9 million ounces of the yellow metal, and early data indicate production set a record of over 6 million ounces last year.
Based on the most recent data available from the Ghanaian central bank, the country’s gold reserves had climbed to 19.2 tonnes as of February. According to a CNBC report, the expanding gold reserves have helped “stabilize the Ghanaian cedi and rebuild external buffers as the economy recovers from its worst crisis in a generation.”
Ghana has targeted reserves of up to 157 tons, the equivalent of 15 months of import cover, by 2028.
Ghana’s efforts to expand its gold holdings are part of a broader global trend toward larger gold reserves, and many countries seek to diversify away from the dollar.
While central bank gold buying moderated in 2025, it remained far above the recent historical average. Official net full-year buying came in at 863.3 tonnes. That was down 21 percent year-on-year, charting the lowest level since 2021.
However, while central bank gold purchases declined last year, they were still well above the 2010-2021 annual average of 473 tonnes.
Last year was the fourth-largest expansion of central bank gold reserves on record. The all-time high was set in 2022 (1,136 tonnes). It was the highest level of net purchases on record, dating back to 1950, including since the suspension of dollar convertibility into gold in 1971.
Originally Published on Money Metals.