Management of Gold Coast Refinery has lauded the government’s vision in the proposed establishment of the Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD), saying it would maximise the country’s interest in the gold trading space.
The company said the Gold Board would be useful in managing the gold value-addition portfolio, which would increase the country’s earnings from the precious metal.
“We thank President John Dramani Mahama and his government for the vision behind the intended creation of the Ghana Gold Board,” the Chief Executive of Gold Coast Refinery, Dr Said Deraz, told the Daily Graphic.
“As a major player in gold refinery in the country, we look forward to working with the board to promote Ghana’s interest in the gold trading space.
We can’t wait for this vision to materialise,” Dr Deraz added.
He said the local gold refining firm was looking forward to playing an active role in the nation’s drive to improve earnings from gold and other mineral resources through value addition.
Gold Coast Refinery is Africa’s second biggest refinery only after Randgold Resources of South Africa. It has the capacity to refine 180 tonnes of gold annually, with a daily capacity of 480 kilogrammes of gold refining.
“We seek to work with highly qualified Ghanaian and African entrepreneurs to put Ghanaian listings on the international bullion market.
“Our vision is to add value as an African producer of gold.
Therefore, we thank President Mahama for establishing the Gold Board to control the export and to support value addition to gold,” he added.
Gold export
Ghana is currently the world’s biggest gold exporter, with the mineral resource contributing a significant portion of the national gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the monetary value of final goods and services.
The gold sub-sector’s contribution to GDP growth of 1.1 per cent in 2022, for instance, translated into 35.5 per cent of the country’s GDP outturn of 3.1 per cent for that year.
This suggested that the minerals’ sector was one of the main anchors of the country’s economic growth in 2022.
Furthermore, gold alone averaged about seven per cent contribution to the GDP between 2013 and 2019.
Copper and silver are two of the by-products of gold, and any effort to refine the metal resource yields the added package of valuable sub-products for other useful production processes.
Gold Coast Refinery, a subsidiary of Euroget De-Invest, an Egyptian investment firm, has so far exported to the Indian and Dubai markets and is in the process of completing relevant procedures to acquire the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) certification, which is considered the de facto international standard for gold and silver.
Certification
In 2022, Gold Coast Refinery Limited was certified to the Code of Practices of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC).
It thus became the first gold refinery in Ghana and West Africa to be certified to the Code of Practices of the RJC, an affiliate of the LBMA responsible for the jewellery and watches industry.
RJC is the leading standards authority in the global watch and jewellery industry and works with members worldwide to create a sustainable supply chain.
With that certification, Gold Coast Refinery became a certified member of the council for a three-year duration.
The certification is issued in accordance with standards and supporting documentation of the Code of Practices 2019, which is aligned with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Due Diligence Guidance and the UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights.
Inauguration
Gold Coast Refinery was inaugurated in 2016 by the then President, John Dramani Mahama, and has since been regarded as West Africa’s biggest gold refinery.
In 2022, Gold Coast Refinery was handed the right to mint Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s commemorative gold coin.
It has participated in various minerals exhibitions and expos in the country, including the Ghana Gold Expo 2021 and the Ghana Mining Week in Takoradi in the Western Region.