Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board, Mr. Samuel Gyamfi, has firmly dismissed claims that the agency purchases gold from illegal miners.
Mr. Gyamfi was responding to comments made by lawyer and policy analyst Kofi Bentil on TV3’s Key Points programme on Saturday, October 11, 2025.
Mr. Bentil reportedly suggested that “about 85% of small-scale miners in the country are galamsey operators,” and therefore, “85% of the gold being purchased by the Gold Board is from galamsey sources.”
In a sharp rebuttal, the CEO said,“My attention has been drawn to a false statement that one of your panelists, specifically Mr. Kofi Bentil, made about the sources of gold purchases of the Ghana Gold Board. I want to put on record that that statement is totally false.”
He added that Mr. Bentil “should not be allowed to get away with such falsehood on a very important platform such as Key Points on TV3.”
Providing clarity, Mr. Gyamfi stressed that the Gold Board operates strictly within the confines of the law.
“For the record, Gold Board is a creature of law. The Ghana Gold Board was established under Act 1140, passed by Parliament in 2025,” he explained.
According to him, the Act clearly stipulates how and where the Gold Board can purchase gold — mandating that the agency buys only from licensed miners.
Mr. Gyamfi further disclosed that the Gold Board procures about 20% of its gold from large-scale mining companies, with the remaining purchases made from licensed small-scale miners.
“We buy gold, and Mr. Ken Ashigbey, who is the head of the Chamber of Mines, will attest that there are about seven large-scale mining companies in Ghana from which Gold Board currently buys 20% of their gold,” he noted.
He clarified that Ghana currently has over 2,000 licensed small-scale miners, who form the primary source of the Board’s small-scale gold purchases.
“The Gold Board, by law and by policy, does not deal with illegal miners,” he emphasized. “We work only with licensed small-scale miners through the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners and the Concerned Small-Scale Miners Association.”
Describing the Gold Board’s approach as “a novelty” in Ghana’s mining history, Mr. Gyamfi said the establishment of the Board provides, for the first time, a legal and institutional framework to ensure gold is purchased exclusively from licensed miners.
The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) was established under Act 1140 (2025) to regulate, promote, and manage Ghana’s gold trade, ensuring transparency and legal compliance in gold transactions.
In recent times, government efforts to combat illegal mining have drawn criticism from civil society groups, who remain dissatisfied with progress made so far.
During a meeting with Civil Society Organizations at the Jubilee House last Friday, President John Mahama reaffirmed his commitment to ending galamsey.
“We need your support. We need your criticism, your advocacy, your pressure,” he said. “Continue to put our feet to the fire, and let’s win this fight together.”
