The Bank of Ghana has procured 26,000 ounces of gold between May and November this year from Newmont as part of the Domestic Gold Purchasing Programme to shore up Ghana’s foreign reserves.
The director of communications at Newmont Africa, David Johnson, said 3,500 ounces were procured by the central bank in May this year, while the remaining 22,500 ounces were bought between October and November 2022.
This makes Newmont the first gold mining company in Ghana to respond to this initiative from the central bank, Johnson said at a media soiree in Sunyani.
The Bank of Ghana’s domestic gold purchasing programme was launched in June 2021 with the primary objective of increasing its gold reserves.
The programme will enable BoG to buy domestically-produced gold from selected gold aggregators and mining firms, and pay in local currency at the prevailing market price. Through this programme, the bank requires an estimated amount of 10,000oz of gold annually from members of the Chamber of Mines over the next five years.
The gold purchase programme seeks to improve and sustain Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves to strengthen the country’s balance of payments.
In August this year, the economic management team headed by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the Bank of Ghana, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Minerals Commission, the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) and the Ghana Chamber of Mines after a series of consultations came to a decision that the central bank will buy 20% of all refined gold in cedis at a spot price with no discounts.
