Ghana’s central bank is pushing its largest gold producers to hand over nearly a third of their annual output, raising the mandatory quota from 20% to 30% as Accra races to build reserves that still sit well short of its 2028 target. The three miners in the crosshairs — AngloGold Ashanti Plc, Gold Fields Ltd., and Newmont Corp. — have agreed in principle to the new threshold. The harder fight is over how much they get paid.
Paul Bleboo, head of the central bank’s Gold Management programme, laid out the terms plainly. “This time, we intend to negotiate for 30% of annual production [from industrial miners] … with the entire 30% to be delivered in dore form,” he said. Doré bars, which are semi-refined gold processed before final smelting, would flow directly to local refineries, improving traceability and routing all exports through state trader GoldBod. Bleboo framed the broader ambition simply, “We want to increase the local refining capacity and create jobs through value addition.”
The reserve math explains the urgency. Ghana is targeting up to 157 tons of gold holdings, the equivalent of 15 months of import cover, by 2028. As of February, the central bank held just 19.2 metric tons.
What makes the higher quota harder to swallow is the programme’s record. Last year, industrial miners delivered roughly 10 tons to the central bank against declared production of about 100 tons. That is 10% actual delivery against a 20% commitment. Asking producers to jump to 30% while the previous obligation was only half-met is the kind of ask that tends to complicate commercial negotiations.
At the centre of those negotiations is a proposed discount of under 1% on purchases, intended to cover refining, freight and purity adjustments. The number sounds modest, but at $4,500 an ounce gold, it doesn’t feel that way in practice, and miners are pressing the point. Kenneth Ashigbey, CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, made clear the gap remains open. “Discussions on pricing and discounts are not straightforward and no agreement has been reached,” he said.
Producers are also pushing back on two specific terms: volume-based discount structures and a zero valuation for by-products such as silver under the proposed arrangement. On timing, the industry is proposing a gradual ramp-up from the prior 20% level rather than an abrupt shift to 30%, arguing that logistics and financial plans were built around the old threshold.
If a deal is reached on the remaining commercial terms, implementation could begin as early as June 1.
Ghana’s urgency is not only about gold stockpiles. Gold accounted for 67% of the country’s exports in 2025, and the reserve-building programme has been part of a broader currency stabilisation effort. The cedi gained against the US dollar for the first time in at least three decades last year, then weakened just 8.5% so far this year — a run of relative resilience the government is counting on the expanded programme to sustain.
The Bank of Ghana recorded an operating loss of about GHS15.6 billion ($1.37 billion) in 2025, driven by monetary tightening costs and losses tied partly to the gold purchase programme itself. The irony is that the programme designed to strengthen Ghana’s balance sheet has itself added strain to it. How that tension resolves depends on whether Accra and the miners can close a deal before June.
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