Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, has rejected claims that the newly established institution is encouraging illegal mining by purchasing galamsey gold.
“To create the impression that nobody was buying galamsey gold and all of a sudden GoldBod is now giving it a market is clearly wrong,” he said on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show during a discussion on the government’s fight against illegal mining.
Mr. Gyamfi explained that GoldBod does not buy gold directly. Instead, licensed private buyers—based mainly in district and regional capitals—purchase gold brought to them. These buyers, he noted, have no technology to verify whether the gold was mined legally or illegally, a challenge that has existed since colonial times.
“It is this five-month-old corporation called Gold Board that has now been given the mandate to find a solution to that problem. You think we can find a solution in five months to a problem that has existed for decades?” he asked.
To address the issue, GoldBod is working on a traceability system expected to launch by the end of the year. The system will use technologies such as satellite monitoring, RFID, and blockchain to track the source of gold. Licensed miners will be required to seal and scan gold with unique codes, while aggregators will have to record origins even after melting.
According to Mr. Gyamfi, introducing traceability will not only strengthen the fight against galamsey but also expand Ghana’s access to premium international markets.
“Currently, because small-scale gold is not traceable, we are limited to markets in Dubai, Hong Kong, India, and Turkey. With traceability, we can access LBMA refineries in Switzerland and China where prices are higher,” he explained.
He insisted that GoldBod’s mandate is to promote responsible mining and sustainability, not to fuel illegal mining.
“People are having the wrong impression that Gold Board is in the market buying galamsey gold. Nothing of that sort is happening,” Mr. Gyamfi emphasized.
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