By Lord Fiifi Quayle, The Primary Source

Barely a year after its highly publicized launch, Ghana’s Gold Board (GoldBod) the state agency tasked with formalizing and centralizing gold trade from the country’s artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector is grappling with mounting financial losses and growing calls for stronger technical leadership.

The institution, established in 2025 to curb smuggling, streamline gold exports, and secure foreign exchange inflows, now finds itself at a crossroads. While its creation was hailed as a strategic masterstroke to restore integrity to Ghana’s gold market, the financial realities emerging from its early operations tell a more complicated story.

A Promising Start Meets Harsh Market Realities

GoldBod began operations with bold ambitions: to purchase, assay, and export gold produced by Ghana’s vast ASM community a sector that accounts for nearly 40 percent of the nation’s output but had long operated informally.

Under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi, GoldBod secured agreements with nine large-scale mining companies to buy up to 20 percent of their gold output locally and rolled out a licensing regime for aggregators and buyers. In its first few months, the board exported an impressive 41.5 tonnes of ASM gold, valued at about US$4 billion a feat many viewed as evidence that Ghana could finally reclaim control of its gold economy.

But beneath the surface, analysts and market insiders say the numbers have not translated into profit.

Trade Discounts and Price Gaps Fuel Losses

According to internal assessments and market data, GoldBod’s trading framework is at the heart of its losses. The agency buys gold from local miners at near market rates but exports under deals that include discounts and delayed payments, significantly eroding profit margins.

Some contracts reportedly feature up to a one-percent export discount, coupled with the costs of refining, insurance, and logistics. During periods of price volatility, GoldBod’s sales abroad have occasionally fallen below its domestic procurement cost locking in substantial operational losses.

“The concept was solid formalise trade, stop smuggling, strengthen the cedi but the execution lacks the technical muscle for international trading,” said a financial analyst who tracks Ghana’s commodities. “GoldBod needs someone who understands hedging, global market timing, and pricing strategy, not just administration.”

Discontent Among Miners

Small-scale miners the group GoldBod was designed to empower have grown increasingly frustrated. Many say the Board’s pricing system, pegged to the Bank of Ghana’s cedi rate, yields less than what private buyers once offered.

Before the new system, a 10-gram bar of gold fetched between GH¢12,000 and GH¢13,000 on the open market. Today, under GoldBod’s structure, that same quantity earns about GH¢8,000. The miners blame what they call “GoldBod’s rigid pricing formula,” while the agency insists the reduced returns are simply a reflection of a stronger cedi and stable global prices.

Caught between supporting miners and maintaining fiscal discipline, GoldBod finds itself squeezed from both ends and the losses are starting to show.

The Need for Technical Direction

Industry watchers argue that what GoldBod now needs most is technical direction, not another layer of bureaucracy.

“Ghana’s gold market operates in a highly volatile, dollar denominated space,” said an economist with the Chamber of Mines. “Without a professional trader at the helm of strategy, every global dip or price lag becomes a loss.”

This has led to growing advocacy within policy circles for the appointment of a Technical Director for Trading and Market Strategy a senior figure with deep experience in global commodity trading, risk management, and pricing analytics.

Such a director would be tasked with restructuring pricing models, optimizing export contracts, and insulating the Board from the volatile swings of global markets all while ensuring fairness to local producers.

CEO Under Pressure, But Staying the Course

Chief Executive Sammy Gyamfi has remained optimistic, describing current setbacks as “growing pains” of a reform still in its infancy. “We are building systems of transparency where none existed before,” he said at a recent briefing. “Our goal is not quick profit but sustainable value for Ghana.”

Yet, even within the agency, there’s recognition that the model must evolve. A technically capable director one skilled in real time market analytics, forward pricing, and gold futures could bring the expertise needed to bridge GoldBod’s operational ambition with financial reality.

The Stakes for Ghana’s Economy

The outcome matters far beyond GoldBod. Gold remains Ghana’s single largest export, accounting for roughly half of total foreign-exchange earnings. If the state run agency continues to record trading losses, the broader economic benefits of its formalization drive stronger reserves, reduced smuggling, and improved traceability could be jeopardized.

In a fragile post IMF recovery, such slippages could undercut hard won fiscal progress. Analysts warn that without urgent technical intervention, the Board risks turning from a stabilizing instrument into a fiscal burden.

Editorial Note

GoldBod was conceived to protect Ghana’s national interest to keep the country’s gold wealth within its borders, channel revenues through official systems, and strengthen the cedi. That mission remains noble and necessary.

But ideals alone cannot sustain markets. A technical institution must be guided by technical minds. The appointment of a Technical Director with global trading experience is not merely a management adjustment; it is an economic imperative.

Ghana’s gold industry sits at the intersection of politics, markets, and national pride. If GoldBod is to fulfill its founding promise transforming gold from an extractive commodity into a strategic national asset it must blend vision with expertise.

The time to do so is now.

GHANA MUST WORK AGAIN