Afrimex is a company with multinational capital that specializes in gold mining, providing mining assistance services, and facilitating the buying and selling of gold. Headquartered in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, Afrimex has set benchmarks in gold trading assistance services and mining support through its unwavering commitment to excellence. This article will look at the Ghana Gold Board, otherwise known as “GoldBod,” a new body established under the Ghana Gold Board Act 2025, a new piece of legislation that is transforming the Ghanaian gold mining industry.
In addition to replacing the Precious Minerals Marketing Company, Ghana’s government has engineered a fundamental shift in how the country’s most valuable mineral resource is traded and regulated. Through the creation of GoldBod, the Ghanaian government has fulfilled commitments made in President Mahama’s party manifesto. In an Explanatory Memorandum supporting the Act, the NDC government highlighted that the Act was intended to support accumulation of gold reserves by the Bank of Ghana, generate foreign exchange, and promote value addition to Ghanaian gold resources.
As indicated in the Explanatory Memorandum, Ghana ranks as Africa’s leading gold exporter. Nevertheless, revenue from gold has largely been generated by taxes and royalties, with minimal benefits derived from the trading of gold itself. To remedy this, Ghana’s government came up with the Ghana Gold Board Act, establishing the corporate entity GoldBod.
GoldBod was created to:
- Manage, oversee, and undertake the buying, selling, refining, assaying, and exportation of gold
- Promote responsible gold sourcing
- Generate foreign exchange for Ghana through gold trading
- Support the accumulation of the Bank of Ghana’s gold reserves
GoldBod is governed by a 13-member Board of Directors, including a president and chief executive officer appointed by President Mahama. The board also includes the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, the Minister of Land and Natural Resources, the Minister of Finance, a representative of the Minerals Commission, and a representative of large-scale gold mining firms. A representative of small-scale mining firms also sits on the board, along with a representative of gold service providers, and four experts with relevant experience and knowledge.
GoldBod’s board is responsible for overseeing the organization’s strategic direction, achieving its objectives, and ensuring the effective, efficient performance of its functions. Day-to-day operations are overseen by the chief executive officer.
The Ghana Gold Board Act established a mandatory licensing regime for all businesses operating in Ghana’s gold trading and marketing industry, with licensing overseen by GoldBod. All businesses participating in Ghana’s gold sector will need to be licensed, including organizations specializing in buying, selling, aggregation, assaying, importing, exporting, processing, refining, storing, shipping, transporting or fabricating gold, or any other form of value addition. Businesses found to be operating without a license will face severe penalties, including a fine of up to GHC 2.4 million or a prison sentence of up to 10 years for the company’s relevant officers.
The historic move by Ghana’s government sent shockwaves through the country’s gold industry, with the Ghana Gold Board Act hailed as a game-changing policy that will transform the gold sector, unlocking unprecedented economic benefits for the nation. The landmark legislation has been met with overwhelming praise from economic analysts, industry experts, and government officials alike. The Act is lauded as a comprehensive, strategic approach to addressing longstanding challenges affecting the Ghanaian gold sector, including everything from inequitable distribution of benefits to environmental degradation and illegal mining.
Dr. Anthony Mawuli Morkporkpor is a renowned US-based Ghanaian economist. He cited the creation of GoldBod as a pivotal moment for the Ghanaian economy, with the Act representing a “quantum leap forward” in the country’s efforts to harness the full potential of its gold resources and channel the benefits towards shared prosperity and sustainable development.
