GoldBod must Fast-Track traceability system to curb galamsey – Ashigbey

Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey, has called for the swift implementation of the Ghana Gold Board’s (GoldBod) gold traceability system.

He described the traceability system as a critical measure in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

Ashigbey said an effective traceability mechanism would enable authorities to establish the source of gold entering the formal market and ensure that the commodity is obtained through responsible and legal mining practices.

He noted that GoldBod had made significant progress in regulating gold trading and argued that similar controls must be extended to the sourcing of gold to address illegal mining and illicit gold flows.

“GoldBod traceability will be very critical. I think one of the good things that has happened to us is GoldBod at the market end, where now you see how decisive GoldBod is when it comes to getting people who are involved in illegal trading,” he said.

According to him, the absence of a comprehensive traceability system makes it difficult to determine whether gold purchased through the formal market originates from legitimate mining operations.

He explained that GoldBod currently purchases gold through agents operating in mining communities, making it necessary to establish a system capable of tracking the commodity from its source to the point of sale.

Ing. Ashigbey warned that delays in implementing the traceability system could undermine efforts to curb illegal mining, particularly as gold continues to enter the formal market through intermediaries.

He therefore urged GoldBod to accelerate the implementation of the system and strengthen responsible sourcing practices across the gold supply chain.

“If we are able to replicate the same when it comes to responsible sourcing and mining, that will solve the problem,” he said.

Ing. Ashigbey further stressed that extending GoldBod’s regulatory controls from gold trading to sourcing could significantly contribute to addressing the galamsey menace.

He said a fully operational traceability system would help ensure that gold entering Ghana’s formal trading system is responsibly sourced and would strengthen efforts by stakeholders to combat illegal mining.

“If they do what they’ve done in trading to what they do with sourcing, then you will find out that it really will be one of the major ways in resolving this issue of galamsey,” he said.