Bank of Ghana (BoG) secured a substantial 432,358 ounces (oz) of gold from members of the Ghana Chamber of Mines (GCM) by mid-December 2023 through the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) and a voluntary foreign exchange sales initiative.

This constitutes approximately 84 percent of the Bank's targeted acquisitions for 2023 and represents nearly 15 percent of the planned output by GCM members for the same year, as reported by the Ghana Chamber of Mines (GCM).

The primary objective of the Bank of Ghana's gold acquisitions is to mitigate the depreciation of the local currency and its subsequent impact on inflation.

The Chamber’s president, Joshua Mortoti, noted that this is in line with the commitment of GCM’s producing members to help government’s efforts to speed-up the economy’s recovery.

The Chamber, he added, is in the process of collating members’ planned gold sales to BoG for 2024, and will facilitate the signing of bilateral agreements between the central bank and mining companies after targets are finalised.

Mr. Mortoti was speaking at a breakfast meeting with the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources – organised by the Chamber in Accra, and also stated that: “In the same vein, members continued to voluntarily give the Bank of Ghana first option to buy forex they intend to sell for the local currency”.

The DGPP was announced in 2021 by government to enable BoG have the first right of refusal for all gold mined in the country. It is part of the central bank’s plan to build gold reserves to stabilise the cedi.

The decision was also against a background that the central bank had only 8.7 tonnes of gold reserves at end-2021, despite the country being one of the world’s leading gold producers.

Announcing the policy decision of the time, Vice President, Dr. Bawumia Mahamudu said: “The central bank will purchase the gold at world market prices and mining companies will export the portion that is not purchased by BoG. Ultimately, once we accumulate enough gold; future borrowing and our currency can be backed by gold. This will stabilise the cedi long-term.

“We must also deepen our industrialisation through value addition to gold; even though Ghana has two gold refineries, neither has London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) certification. This limits our full participation in the gold value chain. We will urgently work toward LBMA certification for our refineries over the next few years,” he added.

Also speaking at the breakfast meeting, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Samuel Abu Jinapor said he continues looking forward to support from the Chamber for various interventions being implemented by government – including value addition, local content and participation, as well as development of mining communities.

He said: “Together, we will achieve the President’s vision to make Ghana the mining hub of Africa.

“The ministry remains fully committed to effective and efficient utilisation and management of our country’s natural resources, anchored on transparency, integrity and utmost good faith for the Ghanaian people’s benefit,” he added.