Editor’s Note
Sierra Leone is exploring the adoption of Ghana’s successful gold aggregation model, which has reportedly generated $4 billion in artisanal mining exports since early 2025. This high-level consultation highlights a growing trend of regional knowledge-sharing to formalize and boost revenue from the artisanal mining sector.
Sierra Leone’s Finance Minister Sheku Fantamadi Bangura has initiated high-level consultations with Ghana’s Gold Board leadership, exploring adoption of the successful aggregation model that has generated $4 billion in artisanal mining exports since February 2025.
The Thursday, September 18 meeting in Accra between Bangura and Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi centered on how Ghana’s recently established gold management framework could help Sierra Leone curb smuggling, enhance transparency, and boost mineral revenues.
Bangura described Ghana’s strategy as “an innovative step to formalise and strengthen its gold sector,” emphasizing that similar reforms could significantly boost Sierra Leone’s economy through improved licensing, assaying, and traceability systems ensuring proper mineral accounting and fair export valuations.
GOLDBOD has demonstrated remarkable early success, purchasing and exporting gold worth GH¢40 billion (approximately $4 billion) from Ghana’s Artisanal Small-Scale Mining (ASM) sector between February and May 2025. The government projects annual revenue potential of $12 billion from small-scale gold mining operations.
The Gold Board operates under the GOLDBOD Act, 2025 (Act 1140), which aims to centralise gold purchasing and export from the ASM sector through a digital licensing system designed to combat illicit trade and promote transparency. All existing gold trading licenses were annulled effective May 1, 2025, with new licensing requirements making unlicensed gold dealing a punishable offense.
Gyamfi expressed readiness to share Ghana’s expertise with Sierra Leone, noting that the approach represents a comprehensive transformation from what officials characterize as unregulated “lottery mining” into systematic operations with guaranteed returns.
Ghana’s Gold Board plans to launch a National Traceability System and Environmental Compliance program while supporting geological research and encouraging local financial institutions to invest in data-backed mining operations. The agency will begin local gold refining from October 2025 through partnerships with the Bank of Ghana and domestic refineries.
For Sierra Leone, the Ghanaian model addresses persistent challenges including rampant gold smuggling and weak regulatory frameworks that have historically drained state revenues. The country’s mining sector contributes significantly to gross domestic product but faces governance challenges that limit government capture of mineral wealth.
Ghana established GOLDBOD as part of President John Dramani Mahama’s economic revitalization priorities, with the government creating a revolving fund to purchase all gold produced by small-scale miners, thereby injecting liquidity into the sector and boosting confidence.
The successful model has transformed Ghana’s approach to artisanal mining, moving from largely informal operations toward structured systems that ensure proper documentation, environmental compliance, and revenue collection. Weekly purchases have increased from approximately 1.5 tons in January to a target of over 3 tons by year-end.
Sierra Leone’s interest reflects broader regional recognition of Ghana’s innovative approach to small-scale mining governance. The consultation represents potential for knowledge transfer that could benefit multiple West African countries struggling with similar mineral sector challenges.
However, implementation challenges await Sierra Leone, including establishing adequate infrastructure for gold assaying and export, developing regulatory capacity, and overcoming entrenched informal trading networks that have operated outside government oversight for decades.
The timing coincides with elevated global gold prices that have increased incentives for both formal and informal mining operations across West Africa. Ghana’s success in capturing value from this price surge through structured aggregation offers lessons for neighboring countries seeking to maximize mineral sector contributions to national development.
Ghana’s commitment to curbing gold smuggling particularly within the ASM sector through robust aggregation frameworks demonstrates practical approaches to challenges common across the region.
As Sierra Leone evaluates adoption of Ghana’s model, success will depend on political commitment to regulatory reform, investment in necessary infrastructure, and capacity building to support effective implementation of centralized gold purchasing and export systems.
The collaboration between the two West African nations represents growing recognition that successful mineral sector governance requires innovative approaches tailored to small-scale mining realities while ensuring government capture of resource benefits for broader economic development.