Sammy Gyamfi with the delegation
Delegations from seven African countries have visited Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) as part of a 12-month study aimed at examining the country’s new model to formalise gold trading and regulation, particularly efforts to retain more value from gold production.
The engagements, which began in September 2025 following a visit by Sierra Leone’s Minister of Finance, Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura, on September 18, will enable the seven countries which include Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Sudan and Namibia to understand how the institution has been able to work so far with miners in the gold value chain.
A report indicates that discussions with the Chief Executive Officer of GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi, centred on how Sierra Leone could adapt the Ghanaian model to strengthen its mineral revenue management.
Sierra Leone’s Minister of Finance, Mr. Fantamadi Bangura, who commended the achievements of GoldBod within a relatively short period, described the institution’s model as a potential blueprint for sustainable gold-sector reform in Africa.
In October 2025, a delegation from Mozambique’s Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy also undertook a two-day study visit to Ghana where the delegation, which included officials responsible for the Kimberley Process, examined the country’s institutional arrangements for regulating gold trading and certification.
Reports showed that the Mozambican officials were taken through GoldBod’s regulatory framework and day-to-day operations by Deputy Chief Executive Officer Richard Nunekpeku.
The visit by the officials from Mozambique formed part of the country’s interest in strengthening the regulation and legal framework of precious metals, rough diamonds and gemstones.
Reports further revealed that the interest continued in January 2026 when a 15-member delegation from Tanzania’s Minerals Commission visited GoldBod to also study the country’s gold-buying system and the regulatory regime supporting it, followed by a separate delegation from the Central Bank of Tanzania to study Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchasing Programme.
Tanzania’s interest subsequently extended beyond the Minerals Commission. Four months later, in April 2026, GoldBod hosted the BetterBrands Team from Zimbabwe on a technical visit focused on opportunities for formalising Ghana’s artisanal and small-scale mining sector.
The engagements by the seven African countries demonstrate the breadth of international interest in countries approach to governance, with interest ranging from mineral revenue management, gold trading and certification, licensing and regulation, domestic gold purchasing, artisanal and small-scale mining among others.
According to industry experts, the study tours will also provide opportunity for GoldBod to share its experience while strengthening technical and institutional cooperation with other African mineral-producing countries as well as helping more African countries to explore ways of capturing greater value from their mineral resources.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah