The government purchased a total of 135.843 metric tonnes of gold, valued at approximately US$16.1 billion, between January 2025 and May 2026, the Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr Thomas Nyarko Ampem, has said.
He disclosed that the purchases were made through the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), with all the gold sourced from the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) sector.
Mr Ampem made the statement on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday in response to a parliamentary question seeking details on the quantity of gold purchased by GoldBod, its sources, and the amount spent on acquiring precious minerals.
He explained that GoldBod aggregates and purchases gold primarily from the ASM sector through licensed buyers operating under its regulatory framework.
“As at May 31, 2026, GoldBod had licensed a total of 1,184 buyers, comprising two aggregators, 67 self-financing aggregators, 736 Tier 2 buyers and 379 Tier 1 buyers,” Mr Ampem stated.
According to him, these licensed buyers are required to purchase gold exclusively from approved miners under set conditions, before selling it to GoldBod.
Mr Ampem further revealed that in 2025 alone, GoldBod cumulatively purchased, aggregated, and exported 104 metric tonnes of ASM gold, generating over US$10 billion in revenue for the country.
He said the resulting inflows contributed to the appreciation of the Ghanaian cedi by about 41 per cent in 2025 and helped increase the country’s foreign exchange reserves from US$8.98 billion in December 2024 to US$13.8 billion in 2025.
Mr Ampem described GoldBod as a strategic institution central to Ghana’s macroeconomic recovery, particularly in strengthening foreign exchange mobilisation and addressing gold smuggling.
He added that the government is managing the gold sector through a transparent system in which the mineral is aggregated, assayed, refined, and exported to generate foreign exchange and strengthen national reserves.
Mr Ampem also noted that GoldBod has intensified collaboration with the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) to combat illegal mining activities and related offences.
BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY
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