The Government has directed large-scale mining firms in Ghana to sell 20% of their entire refined gold at their refineries to the Bank of Ghana.

The policy according to Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia shall takeoff from January 1, 2023, as he posted on Facebook yesterday Friday.

He had in an earlier post revealed Ghana’s new policy where gold rather than US dollar reserves will be used to buy oil products; with the aim of tackling dwindling foreign currency reserves coupled with demand for dollars by oil importers, which is weakening the local cedi and increasing the cost of livelihood.

Dr Bawumia’s Direct Words on
Facebook;

The Bank of Ghana and the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) will coordinate with the large-scale mining companies to ensure compliance with this directive.

The gold to be purchased by the Bank of Ghana and the PMMC will be in cedis at spot price with no discounts.

He added community mining schemes and licensed small-scale miners will also have to sell gold to the government, but did not specify how much of their reserves would be traded.

However, Comminations Officer for Bank of Ghana, Sam Opoku noted he cannot confirm or deny whether Bawumia’s order is accepted and passed as law or not.

A close source told Ampem Gyeke-Darko, AngloGold Ashanti Ltd had not yet received any formal directive on its gold reserves but looked forward to studying and engaging with the government once it does.

The source further hinted neither the Ghana Chamber of Mines nor the Gold Fields Ghana unit had been formally approached on Bawumia’s post and it could not comment. Gold Fields and other miners had already agreed to a gold purchasing program with the Bank of Ghana.

“We have commenced with this program and will in total sell 15,000 oz to the Bank this year. Next year’s amount is still being finalized with the authorities,” a Gold Fields spokesperson said, referring to the company’s amount for this year under the program.

Newmont Corp, Galiano Gold Inc and Asante Gold Corp, which also have gold mines in Ghana, are yet to respond to requests for comment.

Ghana is negotiating a relief package with the IMF.

The country produces crude oil but has relied on imports of refined oil products since its only refinery shut down after an explosion in 2017. It has seen its cedi currency plummet more than 40% against the US dollar this year.