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Gov’t targets 15% stake in first Gold Refinery

Negotiations are far advanced for the government to acquire a 15 percent equity stake in Gold Coast Refinery Limited (GCRL), Ghana’s first gold refinery to be awarded a product certification license.

This was made known by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, at the Inauguration of Gold Certification and Unveiling of Ghana’s Hallmarked Gold Bar on Tuesday in Accra.

At the event the Chairman for GCRL, Dr. Said Deraz revealed that, realizing government’s strong support for industrialization and the critical importance of the precious metal refinery to the economy, in 2017, the company invited government to assume a carried interest shareholding in the Refinery.

Currently, GCRL is a wholly privately owned company.

Certification and Hallmarking

GCRL received its certification from the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) during the unveiling of the country’s first hallmarked gold bar.

The issuance of a certificate or mark (or both) on a product by the Ghana Standards Authority demonstrates that a specific product meets a defined set of requirements for that product.

This process has three major benefits for the country when trading gold on the international bullion market: adding value to raw gold resources; addressing the low revenues derived from the export of raw gold; as well as properly accounting for gold exported from Ghana as the actual value of the gold will be established before export.

Gold Coast Refinery has an installed capacity of 180 metric tonnes per annum in a single shift production, and up to 340 metric tonnes in a double shift, although the company is currently still operating at below maximum capacity. Currently, the refinery produces refined bars of both gold and silver of 1 kilogram bar, 500 grams, 250 grams and 100 grams.

Jewellery Industry

The Chairman announced that the GCRL is preparing to deepen value addition of its gold products by setting up a jewellery manufacturing plant together with a training center and exhibition galleries. The expansion would also include manufacturing gold and silver medallions as well as legal tender coins.