Ghana’s central bank plans to raise gold purchases from the country’s large-scale miners to 30 percent of output from 20 percent starting June 1, deepening its push to strengthen reserves and support the cedi as authorities tighten oversight of the mining sector.

The Bank of Ghana has completed talks with mining companies to increase purchases of doré, or unrefined gold, from producers, according to Paul Bleboo, head of gold management at the regulator. The central bank has been buying refined gold from miners in local currency since 2022 as part of efforts to steady the economy after a sharp currency slide and rising inflation.

Gold bars and a gold nugget held with pincers in a laboratory for quality inspection.

Ghana expands local gold refining

Under the revised arrangement, miners agreed to sell 30 percent of their doré gold to the central bank at a 0.6 percent discount, Bleboo said in a phone interview. The move marks a shift away from refined bullion purchases and places more emphasis on domestic processing before export.

Accra-based Gold Coast Refinery will refine the doré gold locally before it is sent to South Africa’s Rand Refinery for London Bullion Market Association certification. Ghanaian officials say the change could help create jobs, increase local refining activity and keep a larger share of mining-related value within the country.

The latest step builds on policies introduced in 2022, when the government ordered miners to sell part of their gold output to the central bank. Companies affected by the policy include Gold Fields, AngloGold Ashanti and Newmont, all of which operate large mines in the country.

Iduapriem, a multiple open-pit operation located in western Ghana.

Ghana tightens mining ownership rules

At the same time, Ghana is pressing ahead with broader changes aimed at giving local companies a bigger role in the mining industry, one of the country’s biggest sources of export earnings. In April, authorities directed Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti and Zijin Mining to transfer parts of their mining operations to locally owned contractors by December 2026.

The order followed a revised local ownership framework introduced in January 2025 that tightened limits on foreign participation in mining activities. Under the rules, surface mining contracts are reserved for fully Ghanaian-owned companies, while underground operations must be handled by firms that are at least 50 percent Ghanaian-owned.

Ghana, Africa’s largest gold producer, joins a growing number of resource-rich African countries seeking a bigger share of mining revenue and more local control over operations. In Mali, authorities reached an agreement with Barrick Gold last year after months of negotiations over revised mining regulations.