Ghana has officially barred all foreign nationals from participating in its local gold trading market from April 30, 2025.
This follows the enactment of a new law earlier this month that grants exclusive authority of gold mining to a new state body, the Ghana Gold Board.
In a statement, the Board’s spokesperson, Prince Kwame Minkah said all foreigners are hereby notified to exit the local gold trading market, not later than 30th April, 2025.
The decision comes on the heels of a new mining law enacted earlier this month, which grants exclusive regulatory authority over the gold sector to a newly-established state agency, the Ghana Gold Board, known as GoldBod.
Prince Kwame Minkah, GoldBod spokesperson, in a statement, said during this period, gold transactions would only be carried out in Ghanaian cedis, the local currency, and priced based on the Bank of Ghana rates.
“‘All foreigners are hereby notified to exit the local gold trading market not later than April 30, 2025,” Prince Minkah said in a statement issued on Monday.
Also, GoldBod warned that “it shall constitute a punishable offence for a person to purchase or deal in gold in the country without a licence issued by the new board.”
Similarly, the government has allocated $279 million (£212) to the new body to purchase and export at least three tonnes of gold per week.
The Ghana Gold Board is expected to be fully operational by May 2025, with plans to digitize gold transactions, formalize small-scale mining, and regulate gold exports.
Ghana is Africa’s largest gold producer and the sixth largest in the world, but it is struggling to address widespread illegal gold mining.
