The West African nation, Africa’s largest gold producer, wants large-scale miners to sell 30% of their annual gold output to the country’s central bank, up from the current 20% arrangement, according to officials familiar with the negotiations.
The move has already triggered resistance from mining companies, which say critical commercial terms, including pricing structures, discounts and timelines, remain unresolved.
The proposal highlights how resource-rich African countries are increasingly tightening control over strategic minerals as commodity prices surge and governments seek stronger protection against currency volatility and external economic shocks.
Speaking to Reuters, Paul Bleboo, head of the Bank of Ghana’s Gold Management Programme, said the government intends to renegotiate existing supply arrangements with industrial miners and wants the entire 30% allocation delivered in doré form, a semi-refined gold product.
“This time, we intend to negotiate for 30% of annual production [from industrial miners] … with the entire 30% to be delivered in dore form,” Bleboo said.
The new push comes as central banks globally increase gold purchases to diversify reserves away from traditional currencies and shield themselves from financial market volatility.
Gold prices have climbed sharply over the past year, supported by geopolitical tensions, concerns over global debt levels and uncertainty surrounding interest rates in major economies.
For Ghana, the strategy is also closely tied to economic survival.
The country launched its domestic gold purchase programme in 2022 after suffering its worst economic crisis in a generation, which saw inflation surge, the cedi weaken sharply and public debt spiral, forcing the government into an International Monetary Fund-backed restructuring programme.
Since then, authorities have used gold accumulation as part of broader efforts to stabilise the local currency, rebuild external reserves and restore investor confidence.
Bank of Ghana data showed the country’s gold reserves climbed to 19.2 metric tons in February, up significantly from levels recorded before the programme began.
In February this year, the government revamped the initiative and set a target of accumulating as much as 157 tons of gold reserves by 2028, equivalent to about 15 months of import cover.
The central bank also wants state-backed gold trader GoldBod to play a stronger role in supervising bullion exports and improving traceability across the supply chain.
Under the proposed framework, authorities want GoldBod to act as the main gatekeeper for gold exports, giving the government greater visibility into production volumes and export flows.
But mining companies say negotiations are far from complete.
Ghana Chamber of Mines CEO Kenneth Ashigbey said talks around pricing and discounts were still ongoing and “not straightforward.”
A mining executive familiar with the discussions told Reuters companies are opposing volume-based discounts and the proposed treatment of by-products such as silver, arguing that some of the terms could significantly reduce earnings.
Mining firms are also concerned about the pace of implementation, saying operational plans and supply agreements were designed around the previous 20% structure and cannot be adjusted immediately.
The latest dispute comes as Ghana pursues broader reforms in the mining sector.
The government recently proposed replacing its fixed 5% royalty system with a sliding-scale structure that could raise royalties as gold prices increase.
Under the proposal, miners could pay as much as 12% when bullion prices approach exceptionally high levels.
The reforms have attracted international attention because Ghana remains one of the world’s most important gold-producing countries.
Gold contributes about 40% of the country’s export earnings and remains its biggest source of foreign exchange revenue.
At the same time, Ghana is trying to increase local value addition instead of exporting raw minerals.
In 2024, the country inaugurated the Royal Ghana Gold Refinery, a public-private partnership partly backed by the central bank, as part of efforts to expand domestic refining capacity and strengthen Ghana’s role in the global bullion supply chain.
The reserve-building strategy, however, has come at a cost.
Financial statements from the central bank showed it recorded an operating loss of about 15.6 billion Ghanaian cedis ($1.37 billion) in 2025, partly linked to the costs of monetary tightening and the gold reserve programme.
Still, Ghana appears determined to deepen its gold strategy as countries across Africa increasingly push for greater control over strategic resources in an era of rising geopolitical competition and commodity nationalism.