By Mercy Darko
The much-awaited Royal Ghana Gold Refinery has officially been commissioned to refine the country’s gold. The refinery which has the capacity to process about 400-kg of gold has put the country on the path of adding value to its precious minerals.
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia who launched the refinery at a short ceremony in Accra announced his intentions to reduce the withholding tax on gold from the current 1.5 percent 1 percent when elected into office. In addition, he pledges to amend the Mining Laws by decentralizing the operations of the Minerals Commission to minimise the strenuous licencing process among other amendments. Dr Bawumia said Ghana has been asleep for a long, losing revenue by exporting resources in its raw state. He was optimistic that refinery will not only improve revenue generation but also make Ghana the mining hub in Africa and setting the country up as the source of gold purchase globally.
The Royal Ghana Gold Refinery is a joint venture between the Precious Minerals Marketing Company and Rosy Royal Limited. The refinery seeks to among other things take the leadership spot in the industry with a commitment to deliver the highest quality and refining capacity in the country and beyond while creating jobs and fostering economic growth and development. Vice President Bawumia said Ghana, touted as the land of gold has over the years not fully benefitted from the precious minerals due to the unavailability of a refineries to add value to the products.
He said this new refinery is a significant milestone in the history of Ghana in its transformational agenda. He noted that given Ghana’s global and continental strategic position in the production of gold, the country is more than ready to realize significant benefits of gold in the management of the cedi. “The establishment of this refinery is a strategic investment which contributes immensely to Government’s efforts in ensuring value addition of our mineral resources.
Currently, our country’s gold is exported in dore form to be refined outside Ghana, resulting in lost revenue and missed opportunities for job creation. Between 2018 and 2023, Ghana’s average annual gold production was 3.92 million ounces (122.5 tonnes). All this gold was exported unrefined, resulting in lost revenue and missed job creation opportunities.
Dr Bawumia added that, “the refinery will offer premium to gold exported from Ghana. Initially, it is expected to create 80 to 120 direct jobs and another 500 indirect employment opportunities, boosting domestic tax revenue in the form of corporate taxes and enabling us to refine gold to 24 carats, 99.99% purity – same quality as a good delivery bar (LBMA standard)”.
“Government will consult the small- and large-scale miners on the best means possible to feed the refinery to its optimal refining capacity while we come out with favorable policies to discourage smuggling. A few years ago, I pushed for the reduction of the gold export levy (withholding tax) from 3% to 1.5%. The result of this is that after a sharp decline in 2021, the gold export volumes have been steadily recovering, with 2024 showing promising signs”, he added.
Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, gave some statistics on the country’s gold reserves. He announced the opening of a 450 million maganese refinery soon at Nsuta. “This refinery will contribute significantly to the local jewellery industry. Ghanaian jewellers will now have access to responsible sourced refined gold. This intervention is just one of the several measures being implemented by the Akufo-Addo Bawumia government to ensure value addition to our miner. I am happy to report that very soon construction will commence on a 450 million dollars Maganese Refinery at Nsuta in the Western Region”, he noted.
Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison in a remark said this refinery is a step in the right direction to add value to the country resources. He mentioned some of the benefits of the refinery which include addressing the smuggling of Gold to other countries while providing a ready market for local operators.
“The opening of this gold refinery opens a new era to promote gold beneficiation and value addition which will contribute to economic growth, poverty reduction, and ultimately improvement in the livelihoods of Ghanaians. These are all based on the notion that value addition to Ghana’s gold resources”.
Government has given assurance that processes are underway to get London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) certification to facilitate international recognition of refined gold that would be exported from the country.
