Ghana’s gold sector is undergoing a historic transformation, with the small-scale mining industry now surpassing large-scale operations in both volume and value of exports for the first time. Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD), Sammy Gyamfi, announced this landmark achievement, crediting sweeping reforms and robust aggregation mechanisms rolled out by the Board over the past year.
According to Mr. Gyamfi, an efficient T+3 aggregation system has revolutionised gold mobilisation across mining districts, enabling quick turnaround of gold shipments within three days.
“We receive Ghana cedis from the Bank of Ghana and advance them through our aggregators to tier-one and tier-two buyers for gold purchases. Within 72 hours, the gold is in Accra, ready for export,” he explained.
This streamlined operation, combined with the scrapping of the 1.5% withholding tax and the introduction of fair pricing policies, has significantly boosted gold volumes. As of August 2025, Ghana had already surpassed last year’s total small-scale gold export of 66 tonnes, recording 67 tonnes by August alone. “And this doesn’t even include September,” he noted.
The financial impact is even more dramatic. In 2024, the small-scale sector generated $4.6 billion in export revenue. As of August 2025, this figure had jumped to nearly $6 billion, confirming the sector’s emergence as a major contributor to national economic resilience.
Mr. Gyamfi drew on recent Bank of Ghana data to contextualise the gold sector’s national significance. From January to September 2025, Ghana’s total export earnings stood at $17.9 billion, out of which gold contributed $11.2 billion, well over 60%. “Cocoa brought in $2.4 billion, oil gave us $1.8 billion, and all other exports combined added another $2.4 billion. Gold alone dwarfed them all,” he declared.
Of the $11.2 billion from gold, the small-scale sector alone accounted for over $6 billion, over one-third of all national export earnings. “This is the first time in our history that small-scale mining has outperformed large-scale in both value and volume,” Mr. Gyamfi disclosed.
Beyond trade figures, the GOLDBOD CEO detailed the ripple effects of the gold sector’s revitalisation on Ghana’s broader macroeconomic indicators. The surge in foreign exchange (FX) inflows has stabilised the local currency and brought much-needed relief to the economy.
From January to August 2025, the Ghana cedi appreciated by 21% against the US dollar, a stark contrast to a 23.5% depreciation recorded over the same period the previous year.
The stronger cedi has contributed to a noticeable decline in inflation, dropping from 23.8% in December 2024 to 11.5% in August 2025. Lending rates have also improved, falling from 30% to 24%, based on Bank of Ghana data.
Most notably, Ghana’s public debt has dropped significantly. When the current administration took over, the debt stock stood at GH¢726 billion. By December 2024, it had declined by GH¢97 billion to GH¢628 billion. This reduction brought the debt-to-GDP ratio down from 61% to 44.9%, largely due to increased forex earnings and the cedi’s appreciation.
Mr. Gyamfi underscored the external debt component to illustrate this trend. “As of December 2024, Ghana owed $28.3 billion externally. Because of high exchange rates at the time, this translated to GH¢460 billion. But with the strengthened cedi, the burden is significantly lighter,” he noted.
According to him, these outcomes demonstrate the centrality of gold, and the reforms introduced by GOLDBOD to Ghana’s economic recovery strategy. “This success was always within reach. We just needed the institutional framework and leadership to harness it.”
