Africa’s push to formalise and professionalise artisanal and small-scale mining ASM took a significant step forward this month with the announcement of a strategic partnership between Rand Refinery and Ghana’s Gold Coast Refinery.
The collaboration aims to enable local refining of artisanal gold in Ghana while aligning production with internationally recognised responsible sourcing and assaying standards.
The agreement positions Rand Refinery, Africa’s leading London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Good Delivery accredited refiner, as a technical, operational and commercial partner to GCR. Through the partnership, Rand Refinery will provide technical, operational and commercial supervision to support GCR’s refining operations, with a particular focus on responsibly sourced ASM material.
Supporting Ghana’s local refining ambitions
Central to the partnership is Ghana’s government-led effort to retain greater value from its gold sector. Gold Coast Refinery has signed an agreement with the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) to refine up to 1,000 kg of artisanal and small-scale gold doré per week. GoldBod, a government-owned entity, is the sole authority authorised to buy, sell and export gold produced by small-scale miners in Ghana.
Established in 2016 and based in Accra, GCR has a current refining capacity exceeding 80 t/y, with scope for further expansion as feedstock volumes grow. With Rand Refinery’s oversight, the refinery aims to meet globally recognised assaying and refining benchmarks, strengthening confidence in the provenance and integrity of Ghanaian ASM gold.
“The signing of the agreement is a momentous occasion, and Rand Refinery, being the leading LBMA Good Delivery accredited refiner on the continent, stands ready to support the aspirations of the Ghanaian government for local refining,” says Rand Refinery CEO Dean Subramanian. “We are committed to working with Gold Coast Refinery and GoldBod to implement the necessary framework to ensure that material sourced meets international responsible sourcing requirements.”
Raising the bar on responsible sourcing
As an LBMA-accredited refiner, Rand Refinery operates under stringent, independently audited compliance standards designed to eliminate conflict gold, combat money laundering and uphold ESG principles across the supply chain. These controls will form a cornerstone of the support provided to GCR, particularly in a sector where traceability and transparency remain persistent challenges.
Rand Refinery’s approach is underpinned by its “People, Planet, Product and Provenance” framework, which seeks to ensure that Africa’s gold resources deliver tangible benefits to local communities while minimising environmental impact. Applying this framework within Ghana’s ASM sector could help bridge the gap between informal production and formal international markets.
Strengthening Africa’s refining ecosystem
Beyond Ghana, the partnership signals a broader strategic intent. By supporting local refining capacity across the continent, Rand Refinery is positioning itself as a preferred African refining partner, one that enables value retention at source while maintaining access to global bullion markets.
For Ghana, the initiative aligns with national objectives to formalise ASM, improve revenue collection and reduce illicit gold flows. For West Africa more broadly, it offers a model for how collaboration between established refiners and emerging local facilities can elevate standards without exporting value offshore.
Through partnerships such as this, Rand Refinery says it remains committed to supporting and developing Africa’s ASM sector as a critical driver of inclusive economic growth, demonstrating that responsible sourcing and local beneficiation can advance in tandem.
Alignment with LBMA responsible sourcing standards
The partnership also aligns closely with the LBMA‘s long-standing emphasis on responsible gold sourcing, particularly from artisanal and small-scale mining operations. Through its Responsible Gold Guidance, the LBMA has consistently highlighted the importance of formalisation, traceability and refinery-level due diligence as critical tools for reducing risk in ASM supply chains.
LBMA guidance recognises that responsible engagement, rather than exclusion, is essential to improving ESG outcomes in the ASM sector. By supporting local refining capacity under audited, LBMA-aligned frameworks, initiatives such as the Rand Refinery, Gold Coast Refinery partnership reflect the type of market-led solutions the Association has encouraged to integrate responsibly produced ASM gold into formal global markets.
The LBMA has previously underscored that accredited refiners play a pivotal role in setting and enforcing standards, particularly in emerging producing regions, where robust refining and assaying infrastructure can significantly improve transparency, accountability and confidence in gold provenance.
“Refiners are uniquely positioned to drive responsible sourcing outcomes by applying robust due diligence, traceability and risk mitigation measures at the point where ASM gold enters the formal supply chain.” – London Bullion Market Association, Responsible Gold Guidance
Ghana Gold Board: formalising ASM and retaining value locally
For the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), the agreement represents a practical step towards formalising the country’s vast artisanal and small-scale mining sector while retaining greater value within the domestic economy. As the sole state-mandated authority authorised to buy, sell and export gold produced by small-scale miners, GoldBod has been tasked with improving transparency, traceability and compliance across the ASM value chain.
By refining ASM gold locally under internationally recognised standards, GoldBod aims to reduce illicit gold flows, strengthen regulatory oversight and ensure that responsibly mined gold contributes more directly to national development objectives. The partnership with Gold Coast Refinery, supported by Rand Refinery’s technical and compliance expertise, aligns with the Board’s broader strategy to integrate ASM production into formal markets without excluding miners from global value chains.
In a statement accompanying the agreement, GoldBod emphasised that local refining under strict responsible sourcing frameworks is central to Ghana’s vision for a more transparent, value-added gold sector.
“Local refining of artisanal and small-scale gold, under robust governance and international standards, is essential to formalising the sector, improving traceability and ensuring that Ghana derives maximum economic benefit from its gold resources.” – Ghana Gold Board
Building local capacity to global standards
For Gold Coast Refinery, the partnership represents a milestone in its evolution as a regional refining hub and a validation of its long-term investment in local beneficiation. Established in 2016, the Accra-based refinery has steadily built capacity and technical capability, positioning itself to play a central role in Ghana’s formalised ASM gold value chain.
GCR said the agreement with Rand Refinery and the Ghana Gold Board is designed to ensure that artisanal and small-scale gold refined in Ghana meets the highest international assaying, refining and responsible sourcing standards, while remaining anchored in the local economy. The refinery highlighted that access to technical, operational and commercial oversight from an LBMA Good Delivery accredited refiner will accelerate its ability to deliver globally accepted refined gold from responsibly sourced ASM material.
“This partnership strengthens our ability to refine artisanal and small-scale gold in Ghana to internationally recognised standards, while supporting transparency, responsible sourcing and value retention within the country.” – Gold Coast Refinery
Together, the partnership between Rand Refinery, Gold Coast Refinery and the Ghana Gold Board offers a blueprint for how Africa’s ASM gold can be responsibly refined at source, balancing global market requirements with national development priorities.
Article source: https://miningindaba.com/articles/ghanas-asm-gold-goes-global-with-rand-refiner
