All large-scale gold mining firms in Ghana will, effective January 2023, have to sell 20% of their refined gold to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) before exporting.

This is to ensure that the government has enough gold to purchase petroleum products under the government’s gold for oil programme, which is also set to begin next year.

The government made this known in a letter addressed to the Minerals Commission and Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) dated

Wednesday, November 23, 2022.

“Effective 1 January 2023, all large- scale mining companies (as agreed with the Bank of Ghana) shall sell 20% of all refined gold at their refineries to the Bank of Ghana (in Ghana cedis) before the export of the gold. 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 letter said.

“Effective 1 January 2023, all Community Mining Schemes (CMS) shall sell their gold outputs to Government through PMMC. All mining licences for CMS shall include a clause mandating licensees to sell their gold output to government.

“Effective 1st January 2023, all Licensed Small-Scale Gold Miners shall sell their gold to government through PMMC. All small-scale gold

mining licences shall include a clause mandating licensees sell their gold to government,” the letter read.

When implemented, the policy will fundamentally alter Ghana’s balance of payments and may significantly reduce the cedi’s persistent depreciation.

The policy, which is still at the negotiation stage, is expected to come into force by the second quarter of 2023, according to the Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia.

“The demand for foreign exchange by oil importers in the face of dwindling foreign exchange reserves results in the depreciation of the cedi and

increases in the cost of living with higher prices for fuel, transportation, utilities, etc.” he said.

He noted that, “to address this challenge, government is negotiating a new policy regime where our gold (rather than our US dollar reserves) will be used to buy oil products.

The barter of sustainably mined gold for oil is one of the most important economic policy changes in Ghana since independence.”