The Acting Managing Director of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, has announced that the new GoldBod licensing regime has officially taken effect.
He made this known during a press briefing on Monday, June 30, 2025.
According to Mr. Gyamfi, all previously issued gold trading licenses, including those from the now-defunct Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, have been revoked.
He emphasized that only individuals or entities with a valid GoldBod license are permitted to engage in gold trading in Ghana.
“The new gold board licencing regime has taken full effect,” Mr. Gyamfi stated. “Effective immediately, only a Ghanaian who has gone through the lay-down due process and has been issued with a licence by the Ghana Gold Board can legally engage in gold trading in Ghana. What that simply means is that if you are not licenced by the Ghana Gold Board, you are committing a crime if you buy gold or you engage in any form of gold trading.”
He added that, while stakeholders were previously allowed to trade gold with PMMC licenses or those issued by the Minister responsible for mines, that legal regime has officially ended.
The new licensing regime follows sweeping reforms introduced under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), aimed at strengthening regulatory oversight and ensuring transparency in Ghana’s gold trade, particularly within the small-scale mining sector.
“All the previous licences that various traders involved in gold trading had from the defunct Precious Minerals Marketing Company, PMMC, and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources have all been revoked by the Ghana Gold Board Act and we will no longer continue to respect those licences.”
The Ghana Gold Board had earlier extended the deadline for small-scale miners and gold dealers to apply for licenses under the new framework to June 21, 2025, following a petition from the National Concerned Small-Scale Miners Association. The initial deadline had been set for May 21, 2025, after a previous three-week extension.
GoldBod has stressed that after the June 21 deadline, only holders of valid GoldBod licenses are authorized to purchase, sell, or deal in gold.
The use of licenses previously issued by the PMMC or the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources is now prohibited, and any breach of this directive will be considered a punishable offense under Act 1140.
Additionally, GoldBod has clarified that all export rights previously attached to licenses issued by the Ministry have ceased to be valid as of May 22, 2025.
The Board is urging all gold dealers and mining companies to comply with the new regulations, warning that failure to do so will attract legal consequences.
