The World Gold Council has begun talks with Ghana’s Gold Board on closer cooperation aimed at formalizing artisanal and small-scale mining and improving traceability across the gold value chain, as the country moves to tighten oversight of one of its most strategic sectors.
The Council’s Chief Executive Officer, David Tait, led a delegation to Accra for a strategic engagement with Gold Board Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi and members of the board’s governing council, according to officials familiar with the discussions.
Talks focused on bringing artisanal and small-scale mining, or ASM, into the formal economy, with an emphasis on traceability systems that align with international standards. Ghana is Africa’s largest gold producer, but ASM remains largely informal, posing challenges for regulation, environmental management and access to global markets.
The two sides also explored proposals for strategic partnerships to establish commercial-scale, sustainable processing plants in Ghana dedicated to ASM gold. Such facilities could improve recovery rates, reduce environmental damage and help ensure that gold produced by small-scale miners meets the requirements of responsible sourcing frameworks used by global buyers.
The engagement comes as Ghana steps up efforts to strengthen governance in the gold sector and capture greater value locally, while responding to rising scrutiny from international markets over the origin and handling of precious metals.
