Small-scale gold exports hit $10.8bn in 2025 - GoldBod
Ghana's Gold Board reported that the artisanal and small-scale mining sector generated $10.8 billion in 2025. This growth is attributed to new licensing and formalization reforms that successfully reduced smuggling.
Why it matters
The success of these reforms demonstrates how formalizing informal mining sectors can significantly boost national foreign exchange reserves and currency stability.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, says the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector generated $10.8 billion in foreign exchange (FX) in 2025, attributing the performance to reforms that brought more gold previously lost to smuggling and illegal trade into the formal economy.
He said in volume terms, gold exports from the ASM sector increased from 63 tonnes in 2024 to nearly 104 tonnes last year.
“More importantly, the ASM gold sector in 2025 generated $10.8 billion in foreign exchange for the country,” Mr Gyamfi said in a keynote address at the 2026 African Minerals Policy Forum in Accra last Monday.
The GoldBod CEO explained that the FX inflows from ASM gold supported reserve accumulation and currency stability, and contributed to the cedi’s 41 per cent appreciation against the US dollar in 2025.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in