Report by leading economists at the University of Ghana has revealed that the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) generated a staggering US$3.8 billion in foreign exchange (FX) during 2025 through the strategic formalisation of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM).
This massive influx of non-debt capital was achieved by redirecting gold volumes that were previously siphoned out of the country via illicit smuggling routes into the formal state apparatus.
By capturing these flows, GoldBod has not only bolstered the nation’s external reserves but has also provided a fiscal cushion that far outweighs the widely discussed trading losses reported by the central bank.
“Even under conservative valuation assumptions, the formalisation dividend dominates the policy cost by an order of magnitude. The much-discussed losses recorded by the BoG are largely accounting translation effects. Once these valuation effects are separated from the true economic cost, the programme’s net contribution remains strongly positive.”
Prof. Ebo Turkson, et al
The comprehensive study, authored by Professor Festus Ebo Turkson, Peter Junior Dotse, and Professor Agyapomaa Gyeke-Dako, highlighted a transformative shift in the extractive landscape, noting that recorded ASM gold exports surged from 63.6 metric tonnes in 2024 to 103.0 metric tonnes in 2025.
This incremental gain of 39.4 tonnes represents a “formalisation dividend” that the researchers estimate to be nearly 18 times the US756 million to US$1.08 billion in annual interest savings generated by these non-debt FX inflows.
Economic Impact and Macroeconomic Buffers
The economic ramifications of this formalisation drive extend far beyond simple balance sheet entries, directly influencing Ghana’s sovereign creditworthiness.
By converting illicit gold flows into official reserves, GoldBod has effectively strengthened the country’s import cover and reduced its reliance on expensive external borrowing.
This “non-debt foreign exchange” serves as a critical shield against global market volatility, allowing the state to meet its external obligations without increasing the national debt stock.
Furthermore, the report emphasizes that the stability provided by these reserves has a disinflationary effect, as it mitigates the exchange-rate pass-through that often drives up the cost of living for ordinary Ghanaians.
The researchers pointed out that the policy’s effectiveness is rooted in its ability to “internalise gold flows previously lost to illicit channels.”
This shift has resulted in improved exchange-rate stability and a noticeable reduction in rollover risks for the nation’s debt.
In essence, the US$3.8 billion captured through formalisation acts as a sustainable financing mechanism that supports the Cedi and enhances the overall predictability of the macroeconomic environment.
The “durability of the financing benefits” is evidenced by the massive interest savings that would have otherwise been paid to international creditors had the same amount of liquidity been sourced through Eurobonds or commercial loans.
Sustaining Gains through Institutional Innovation
To ensure that these significant achievements are not transitory, the University of Ghana report underscores the necessity of maintaining transparency and price competitiveness.
The authors describe GoldBod as a “welfare-enhancing institutional innovation” that must continue to offer fair market pricing to artisanal miners to prevent a reversion to smuggling.
Sustaining the formalisation dividend requires a robust regulatory framework that integrates “responsible sourcing, supply chain traceability, and sustainability” into the core of the ASM sector.
By doing so, the state can continue to extract maximum value from its mineral wealth while fostering an inclusive mining economy.
Looking ahead, the experts recommend that the policy costs associated with GoldBod’s operations be treated as “quasi-fiscal expenses” funded through the national budget, given their role in national stabilization.
This approach would separate the essential costs of formalisation from the central bank’s commercial performance, providing a clearer picture of the programme’s high-return nature.
As the extractive sector moves toward 2026, the focus must remain on “enhancing external buffers and reducing reliance on expensive debt financing.”
If managed with continued diligence, the GoldBod model offers a revolutionary roadmap for resource-rich nations to achieve financial sovereignty by turning “gold in the ground into gold in governance.”
READ ALSO: IPGs Confirms Government’s Payment of Legacy Power Sector Debt
