Member of Parliament for Pru East, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, has voiced his concerns over the absence of a certified gold refinery in Ghana, a country renowned for its rich gold mining history dating back to 1891.
He lamented that despite Ghana being the largest gold exporter in Africa, Ghana lacks a facility to refine its gold locally, missing out on the downstream economic benefits.
“For a country previously called the Gold Coast, the absence of a certified gold refinery denies the state and the people the downstream effects of gold mining,” Dr. Donkor emphasized.
He underscored the potential profitability of the downstream sector, which involves refining gold for various applications, such as jewelry manufacturing.
Dr. Kwabena Donkor was speaking in an interview after he had posed a question on the matter to the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.
Drawing a comparison with global markets, Dr. Donkor noted that Dubai and India have thriving jewelry industries, contributing significantly to their economies.
“We earned US$6 billion from exporting raw gold in 2022. If this gold had been refined, the employment effect and the cascading effect would have added another $6 billion to our GDP,” Dr. Donkor stated.
Challenging the media to play a pivotal role in highlighting the significance of the natural resource sector, Dr. Donkor urged collective efforts to propel the country forward economically.
Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, who responded to Dr. Donkor’s concerns revealed the government’s commitment to establishing a London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) certified gold refinery.
He disclosed that a refinery, initiated in 2018 under a Public Private Partnership, has completed its test run and is ready for full operation with a daily refinery capacity of 400kg of gold.
“The Ministry, in collaboration with the Minerals Commission, has commenced work with a team from Shanghai Gold Exchange, the biggest physical gold trading exchange in the world, to explore areas of possible cooperation,” Minister Jinapor stated.
Dr. Donkor’s advocacy sheds light on the untapped potential of Ghana’s gold sector, urging the government to expedite efforts in establishing a certified refinery to maximize the economic benefits of gold mining.