ACCRA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Ghana, Africa's leading gold producer, recorded a surge in small-scale gold exports during the first eight months of 2025 as sector reforms began to yield results, Sammy Gyamfi, chief executive officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), said on Tuesday.
From January to August, small-scale gold exports undertaken or facilitated by GoldBod reached a record 66.7 metric tons, valued at about 6 billion U.S. dollars, Gyamfi told participants at the Mining and Minerals Convention 2025 in Accra, the Ghanaian capital.
The figure surpassed the 63 metric tons worth 4.6 billion dollars exported in the whole of 2024, he said.
Small-scale gold exports also continued to outpace those from the large-scale mining sector, which stood at 65.1 metric tons with an export value of about 5.6 billion dollars during the same period, Gyamfi added.
In line with efforts to boost the Bank of Ghana's gold reserves, GoldBod has begun purchasing 20 percent of output from seven large-scale mining companies in the country, with the central bank acquiring nearly 100 kg to augment national reserves, according to Gyamfi.
The official added that foreign exchange accumulation from gold exports this year, particularly from the small-scale sector, has significantly strengthened Ghana's reserves, improved the country's balance of payments, and provided critical support to the Ghanaian cedi currency.
He pledged that GoldBod would continue working to increase Ghana's gold output and develop the supply chain responsibly "from the heartland to global vaults," while delivering sustainable and transformational returns.
President of Ghana John Dramani Mahama signed the GoldBod bill into law in April, making the entity the sole regulator overseeing the buying, selling, and export of small-scale gold mined in the country.
