Gold Fields Ghana has sold 26,000 ounces of gold to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) following a gold purchasing agreement with the central bank.
The local currency, Cedi, was used in the payment of the gold.
According to Joshua Mortoti, the Executive Vice President and Head of Gold Fields West Africa, Tarkwa and Damang mines sold 19,000 and 7,000 ounces of gold, respectively, to the Bank of Ghana at the prevailing market price.
“Through the Chamber of Mines, we engaged the government and agreed to the gold purchasing program in November, which enabled the central bank to acquire the gold.”
Joshua Mortoti
The domestic gold purchase programme, which was launched by the BoG in June 2021, is expected to augment the country’s foreign exchange reserves and shore up the local currency.
Mr. Mortoti further explained that, the industry needs a predictable fiscal environment for investment to thrive. The mining sector is key to the country’s economy and contributes over 40% of GDP and generates more than one-third of total export revenue, he added.
“We will continue to support and engage government on initiatives in these critical times to arrive at mutually beneficial outcomes, with consideration to conditions in our Development Agreement.”
Joshua Mortoti
Agreement Made Between The Central Bank And The Mining Firms
Government in its previous agreement with the mining sectors, directed all large-scale mining firms to divest 20% of their entire stock of refined gold at their refineries to the country’s central bank in Ghana Cedis effective January 1, 2021.
Ghana’s plan was a new policy to use gold to buy oil products, instead of US dollar reserves to tackle decreasing foreign currency reserves.
The initiative was to ensure a coordination between Bank of Ghana and the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC).
According to the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the gold to be purchased by the Bank of Ghana and the PMMC will be in cedis at spot price with no discounts. The order to sell gold to the government also entails community mining schemes and licensed small-scale miners.
The directives initiated was to also help local gold refineries obtain gold supplies from PMMC to support their operations as they work toward obtaining the required London Bullion Market (LBMA) certification.
Gold Fields agreed to the gold purchasing program with the Bank of Ghana.
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