- GoldBod Delivers GH¢5.44 Billion Surplus as Ghana Tightens Grip on Gold Trade
Ghana’s Gold Board posted a surplus after exceptional items of GH¢5.44 billion in its first year of operation, offering an early indication of the scale of government’s attempt to centralise, regulate and monetise the country’s gold trade through a state-backed aggregation and export model.
The audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, showed that GoldBod recorded total revenue of GH¢5.55 billion, compared with GH¢308.14 million restated for 2024. Total expenditure stood at GH¢109.39 million, leaving a surplus before exceptional items of GH¢5.44 billion.
After exceptional items, including a loss on financial assets through fair value and a share of profit from GoldBod Jewellery Limited, the Board recorded a final surplus of GH¢5.44 billion, compared with a restated surplus of GH¢185.34 million in 2024.
The performance is an important first-year financial statement for an institution created under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025, Act 1140, to replace the defunct Precious Minerals Marketing Company and take a more central role in buying, collecting, testing, exporting, and regulating Ghana’s gold trade.
GoldBod commenced operations in April 2025, following the enactment of Act 1140, with its board formally inaugurated in May by the Minister for Finance on behalf of the President. Its mandate includes acting as the sole authority with exclusive rights to buy, sell, weigh, grade, assay, value and export gold and other precious minerals produced in Ghana.
The Board’s revenue was driven mainly by non-tax revenue of GH¢970.77 million, a government grant of GH¢4.55 billion, and finance income of GH¢35.34 million. Non-tax revenue comprised assay fees of GH¢558.14 million, vault service charges of GH¢337.43 million, registration and licence income of GH¢30.77 million, large-scale mine inspection fees of GH¢41.85 million, commission on diamond exports of GH¢1.62 million, and diamond-licensed buying companies’ fees of GH¢770,700.
The government grant, according to the accounts, was provided as a revolving trade capital facility to support gold purchasing, trading and export operations. Excluding the government subvention, the Board still reported revenue of GH¢1.01 billion and a surplus of GH¢895.30 million, underscoring the income potential of its fee-based and trading-related operations.
Expenditure was relatively contained. Compensation of employees amounted to GH¢37.38 million, use of goods and services stood at GH¢28.34 million, specialised expenses totalled GH¢38.92 million, while depreciation amounted to GH¢4.95 million. No finance cost was incurred in 2025, compared with GH¢46.04 million in 2024.
GoldBod’s total assets stood at GH¢9.55 billion at the end of 2025, compared with GH¢1.68 billion in 2024. Total liabilities rose to GH¢3.95 billion, from GH¢1.52 billion, while net assets increased sharply to GH¢5.60 billion, from GH¢161.59 million.
The balance sheet was anchored by cash and cash equivalents of GH¢8.77 billion, short-term investments of GH¢102.04 million, short-term receivables of GH¢96.97 million, prepayments of GH¢444.04 million, and inventory of GH¢54.62 million. Current liabilities stood at GH¢3.93 billion, with trade payables accounting for the bulk at GH¢3.88 billion.
Operationally, the Board reported that it supported the generation of foreign exchange for the Bank of Ghana through the Gold-for-Reserves programme, contributing US$10.8 billion to the economy. In its role as national assayer, GoldBod assayed 103.8 metric tonnes of artisanal and small-scale mining gold valued at US$10.8 billion, as well as 101 metric tonnes of large-scale gold valued at US$9.7 billion for the year.
Under its sole exporter mandate, GoldBod exported or facilitated the export of 204.8 metric tonnes of gold from both the artisanal and small-scale mining sectors and the large-scale mining sector in 2025. The Board said legal exports, including large-scale mining, surged to approximately US$20 billion from US$10.3 billion in 2024.
The scale of exports places GoldBod at the centre of Ghana’s evolving mineral revenue and foreign exchange strategy, particularly at a time when gold prices have strengthened and the Bank of Ghana has expanded its reserves position. The annual report noted that gross international reserves rose to US$13.8 billion by the end of 2025.
In addition to revenue mobilisation, GoldBod’s mandate also includes formalising the gold trade, enforcing anti-smuggling measures, ensuring traceability, promoting responsible sourcing, certifying diamond exports, and encouraging local refining. The Board said it had introduced a structured licensing regime for gold buyers, including self-financing aggregators, licensed aggregators, tiered buyers and local traders.
It also reported the establishment of a dedicated taskforce to monitor, detect and prevent illegal gold trading activities and smuggling. The initiative, according to the report, contributed to a significant reduction in illicit gold trading activities and strengthened regulatory compliance across the value chain.
For government, the 2025 audited numbers will be read as early validation of the GoldBod model: centralising gold purchases, formalising artisanal and small-scale mining flows, improving foreign exchange repatriation and capturing more value from a sector that has long suffered from leakages, under-declaration and smuggling.
But the numbers also raise the stakes. With large public funds being channelled through the institution as revolving trade capital, GoldBod’s governance, audit discipline, procurement controls and transparency framework will be critical to sustaining public confidence.
The Ghana Audit Service issued an opinion that the financial statements give a true and fair view of the Board’s financial position as at December 31, 2025, and of its financial performance and cash flows for the year then ended.
GoldBod has therefore entered Ghana’s fiscal and extractive governance landscape with a sizeable balance sheet, a strong first-year surplus and a politically significant mandate. Its next test will be whether it can convert early financial gains into durable improvements in gold traceability, export transparency, reserve accumulation and domestic value addition. For a country seeking to use gold not merely as an export commodity but as a macroeconomic stabilisation instrument, GoldBod’s first-year results suggest the state is no longer content to sit at the margins of its most valuable mineral trade.
