Although the government’s efforts to expand the country’s local gold refining capacity have been greeted with optimism, symbolism, and national pride, it appears that all is not that rosy as it may seem.
The launch of the new gold refinery was met with pomp and pageantry and public celebrations. The experts agree that refining more gold at home signals progress, value addition, and greater control over a strategic national resource.
But beyond the headlines and ceremonies, some analysts are revealing uncomfortable questions that remain unresolved.
Leading this charge is policy analyst Alfred Appiah, who is urging policymakers and the public to pause and interrogate the substance behind the celebration. He is sounding the caution that, without clarity on key issues, Ghana risks repeating past mistakes in its long and chequered history with local gold refining.
For him, at least four major questions remain that have not been answered.
Timeliness for Achieving LBMA Certification
At the centre of the debate is LBMA certification, which is the global gold market’s gold standard. While the Gold Coast Refinery is often presented as a game-changer, there has been little public disclosure on the timeline for achieving certification from the London Bullion Market Association.
Without it, access to premium international markets remains limited, regardless of where the gold is refined.
“What timeline is the Gold Coast Refinery targeting to achieve LBMA certification?” he asked.
Will Ghana Still Be Able to Sell at a Premium Market Even with an LBMA Certificate Amid Galamsey?
Closely linked is the persistent challenge of illegal mining (galamsey). Alfred Appiah questions whether Ghana can realistically sell gold into top-tier markets while environmental degradation and traceability concerns remain unresolved.
Even if gold is refined locally, buyers may still insist it pass through LBMA-certified refineries abroad, raising the possibility that Ghana could end up paying refinery fees twice, eroding any supposed cost advantage.
“Even with local refining, would Ghana be able to sell gold to premium markets while galamsey continues at scale? Would we still need to send locally refined gold to LBMA-certified refineries abroad? Could this mean paying refinery fees twice?”
What is the Clear Policy Plan for Jewelry Manufacturing & Value Addition?
The analyst also points to a deeper structural issue: bullion refining itself offers thin margins. The real economic value, he argues, lies further downstream, which is in jewelry manufacturing, industrial applications, and branded gold products.
Yet, there is no clearly articulated public policy document outlining Ghana’s long-term strategy for gold value addition beyond refining.
“Bullion refining is a low-margin business. The real value addition comes from jewelry and other downstream products. What is the vision for that, and where is the policy document outlining Ghana’s strategy for local gold value addition?,” he quizzed.
What is the Guarantee that this New Attempt to Refine Locally Will Work?
Perhaps most critically, Ghana has been here before. Several past attempts at local gold refining failed to deliver sustainable outcomes.
Appiah argues that without transparent lessons learned from these experiences, covering governance, financing, market access, and regulatory oversight, there is little assurance that the current push will end differently.
He indicated that, “Ghana has a long history of attempts to refine gold locally, and many refineries haven’t succeeded. What lessons have been learned from past failures to ensure a different outcome this time?”
The Bottomline
The questions raised by the analysts do not dismiss the importance of local refining. Instead, they challenge the country to move from symbolism to strategy.
As Ghana celebrates improved refinery capacity, Alfred Appiah warns that success will not be measured by ribbon-cutting ceremonies, but by certification timelines, market access, downstream development, and the hard policy choices needed to make local gold refining truly transformative.
