Ex-PMMC chief Nana Akwasi Awuah proposes African gold producers' bloc as refineries multiply

Pinned summary · as of 23:01

Nana Akwasi Awuah, a former chief executive of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) which has since become GoldBod, wants African gold producers to organise into a single association. He spoke after Burkina Faso opened its first state refinery for gold on 28 September, arguing that more refineries across the continent give producing countries a reason to coordinate.

What we know

• Mr Awuah proposed an African Gold Producers Association (AGPA) to unite gold-producing countries, and argued that it would help them coordinate how gold is produced, refined and sold and keep more of the benefit in Africa.
• He accepted that setting up such a continental body could take a long time, and therefore suggested an African Gold Refineries Association (AGRA) as a first step that might later grow into the wider producers' group.
• Burkina Faso opened RAFFINOR-BF, its first national gold refinery, in Ouagadougou on 28 September 2026. The plant is part of the country's drive to process more gold at home instead of exporting dore for refining abroad.
• Mr Awuah said African countries, Ghana among them, are increasingly turning to local processing of gold. In his account, Ghana's first refinery with government co-ownership is the Royal Ghana Gold Refinery.
• He stressed that African refineries need international accreditation and a route into global bullion markets, and that building refining capacity must go hand in hand with meeting those standards.
• South Africa's Rand Refinery is still the only refinery in Africa accredited by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). Ghana's Gold Coast Refinery is seeking possible accreditation and is receiving technical help from Rand Refinery.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

• ?
  Starr FM alone quotes Mr Awuah as saying that closer ties between refineries could yield shared gains on standards, technology, market access and value addition; MyJoyOnline did not carry this point.

Why it matters for Ghana

Gold is one of Ghana's leading exports, and refining it at home rather than selling it unprocessed can keep more earnings in the country. Ghanaian refineries such as the Gold Coast Refinery would need international accreditation to sell into the biggest bullion markets. Mr Awuah's proposal shows how African producers might negotiate together, though it remains only a proposal and he himself said it may take considerable time.