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The government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ghana Chamber of Mines to purchase 30 per cent of gold output from large-scale mining companies under the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Programme (GANRAP).
The agreement, approved by Parliament, will enable the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) to purchase that amount of gold from large–scale miners, which will be processed and refined locally for reserve accumulation.
The government parties were represented by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) and the Bank of Ghana (BoG), while the chamber represented the individual large-scale mining companies.
The signing follows negotiations among the government, the chamber, mining companies, the central bank and the GoldBod, and marks the formal commencement of the policy, effective Thursday, August 13, 2026.
The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson; the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah; the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi, and the Governor of the BoG, Dr Johnson Asiama, signed on behalf of the government parties, while the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Kenneth Ashigbey, signed on behalf of the mining companies.
Speaking at the signing ceremony at the Ministry of Finance in Accra last Thursday, Dr Forson stated that the agreement marked the government’s successful conclusion of negotiations with the mining companies and the chamber to implement the GANRAP programme.
He said the gold would be purchased by the BoG, while GoldBod would facilitate its local processing and refining.
“Today’s signing of the memorandum of understanding signifies that we have successfully come to a mutual understanding that the policy will be implemented effective the date of signing,” Dr Forson said.
Mr Buah expressed appreciation to the chamber and large-scale mining companies for their cooperation and support for the programme.
He said the cooperation demonstrated the mining industry’s commitment to promoting macroeconomic stability, which he described as important to the country’s economic development.
The minister assured the chamber and its members that the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources would continue to work with them to address emerging issues as the new programme was implemented.
Dr Asiama commended the chamber and its member companies for their partnership and described the 30 per cent commitment as a meaningful contribution to national development.
“The Bank of Ghana remains committed to working closely with all stakeholders to ensure that the successful implementation of this agreement happens and to maximise its benefits for the Ghanaian people,” he said.
For his part, Mr Ashigbey said the mining industry fully supported GANRAP because a stable macroeconomic environment was essential for businesses to operate and grow.
He said the programme’s objective of building a 15-month reserve buffer would help the country to withstand economic shocks while also benefiting businesses.
“The policy intention of GANRAP is something that, as an industry, we completely support,” he said.
Mr Ashigbey called for GANRAP to evolve into an incentive-based system beyond its current 2028 timeline to encourage local processing and refining, and position Ghana as a gold refining hub in the West African sub-region.
He added that such incentives could encourage more mining companies to refine their gold locally, similar to approaches adopted by Tanzania, India and South Africa.
