Ghana marks historic export of responsibly mined gold from Small-Scale Sector

Typhoon Greenfield Development Ltd and MKS PAMP, working with Development Gold International (DGI), have launched a limited edition of special gold bars to celebrate the first export of fully traceable and responsibly sourced gold from small-scale mines in Ghana.

The gold bars were presented to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, during the Mining in Motion summit gala at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra. Six of the bars were auctioned to raise funds for the King’s charities, which focus on land restoration and clean water.

Dignitaries at the event included Ghana’s Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, along with mining ministers and advisors from Malawi, Niger, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea-Conakry, Somalia, Côte d’Ivoire, and key leaders from Ghana’s mining sector.

The gold was mined at Typhoon Greenfield’s Adomanu site and refined at MKS PAMP’s facility in Switzerland. The export was supported by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) under DGI’s initiative to help small-scale miners meet global standards, including the Development Gold Ghana Performance Standard and LBMA’s Responsible Sourcing Programme.

Max Afriyie-Barwuah, President of DGI, said: “This is a major milestone in the Ghanaian gold industry… It signals the serious intention of small-scale miners in Ghana to meet international standards and of LBMA Good Delivery List (GDL) refiners to recognise Ghana as a source of formal and responsible gold from small-scale mines.”

Typhoon Greenfield CEO Kwaku Afrifa Nsiah-Asare added: “We are thrilled to pioneer this home-grown Ghanaian responsible mining initiative… I expect others to follow and for the formalisation of small-scale mining in Ghana to scale rapidly.”

Omar Liess of MKS PAMP said: “We’re proud to support this initiative and look forward to continued collaboration… to inspire similar initiatives globally.”

Ruth Crowell, LBMA Chief Executive, stated: “This is exactly the kind of initiative LBMA supports.”

TDi Sustainability Executive Chair Assheton Carter praised the effort: “It is never easy and takes time, in this case, four years of hard work on the ground.”

The project also uses DGI’s MineTrace tech platform to ensure the gold supply chain is transparent and environmentally responsible. The LBMA has supported Ghana since 2023 as one of the top four countries showing strong potential for responsibly sourced small-scale gold production.