Gold Purchase Programme: Gold Fields sells $47.8m worth of gold to BoG
Gold Fields Ghana has sold 26,000 oz of gold worth $47.8m [at the spot price of $1,840 as at the time of the report] to the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
The sale by Gold Fields Ghana is in pursuant to the gold purchasing agreement with the Central Bank.
Payment for the gold, per reports, was made in the local currency, the cedi.
The domestic gold purchase programme, which was launched by the BoG in June 2021, is expected to augment the country’s foreign exchange reserves and shore up the local currency.
Joshua Mortoti, Executive Vice President and Head of Gold Fields West Africa, speaking on the sale of the gold to the BoG averred, “Our Tarkwa and Damang mines sold 19,000 and 7,000 ounces of gold, respectively, to the Bank of Ghana at the prevailing market price.”
“Through the Chamber of Mines, we engaged the government and agreed to the gold purchasing programme in November, which enabled the central bank to acquire the gold.”
“We will continue to support and engage government on initiatives in these critical times to arrive at mutually beneficial outcomes, with consideration to conditions in our Development Agreement.”
The mining sector is key to the country’s economy and contributes over 40% of GDP and generates more than one-third of total export revenue.
Gold mining firms pledge sale of 125,000 oz of gold to BoG by end of 2022
Gold producing member companies of the Ghana Chamber of Mines pledged to sell about 125,000 ounces of gold to the Bank of Ghana (BoG), under the Central Bank’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme for 2022.
The sale covered the period from September to December 2022.
The decision was an outcome of a meeting held last year -2022- among H.E. Vice President Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, some other members of the Economic Management Team, the Bank of Ghana, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Minerals Commission, PMMC as well as the leadership of the Chamber to consider the implementation of the BoG’s Gold Purchase Programme in the light of the country’s economic challenges.
Ahead of that meeting, Newmont Ghana had already sold 3,500 ounces of gold to the Bank of Ghana as part of the programme.
