The Ghana Gold Board has pushed back against claims its CEO endorsed illegal mining, calling out a selectively edited video circulating on social media that it says deliberately twists comments Sammy Gyamfi made to artisanal and small-scale miners back in March 2026.
According to GoldBod, the clip strips away the context in which Gyamfi explained government's actual policy objective, which is identifying and documenting mining operators and moving eligible informal miners into a lawful, regulated system.
"Government's policy is not to legitimize illegal mining.
"It is to end illegality by transitioning eligible operators into a formal system where they can be licensed, regulated, monitored and held accountable for their environmental and operational conduct." - GoldBod
Formalisation, Not Permission
GoldBod drew a sharp line between permitting illegal mining outright and creating a pathway for unlicensed miners to come into compliance with the law, insisting Gyamfi's remarks fell squarely into the latter category.
At the 2026 Mining in Motion Summit, Gyamfi reportedly reiterated that mining regulation needs to be firm and practical, but also inclusive enough to formalise operations and build capacity rather than simply policing miners from a distance.
That philosophy underpins GoldBod's planned ASM Formalization and Financing Support Program, a joint effort with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the University of Mines and Technology, and the Mineral Income Investment Fund, with technical backing from Rand Refinery SA.
The program aims to boost production, mineral revenue and jobs while cutting operational costs and curbing the environmental damage tied to artisanal mining.
GoldBod says it has already started engaging stakeholders on the proposed program, including government agencies, small-scale miners' associations and civil society groups, ahead of a planned 2027 rollout.
The goal, according to the statement, is to keep the policy responsive to industry needs rather than imposing something disconnected from how miners actually operate on the ground.
Alongside the formalisation push, GoldBod is partnering with the Ghana Geological Survey Authority on geological studies in Funsi in the Upper West Region and Bensere in Ashanti, work intended to reduce what the statement called "lottery mining," the kind of guesswork-driven mining that tends to leave the environment worse off.
A Record GoldBod Says Speaks for Itself
GoldBod was explicit that its position on environmentally destructive mining has not shifted. It pointed to its ongoing support for NAIMOS and investments in responsible sourcing, traceability, land reclamation and water remediation as evidence.
Specifically, the board says it is funding reclamation of 50 hectares of degraded land in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve, backing the rehabilitation of water treatment plants damaged by irresponsible mining, and procuring a track-and-trace system to tighten accountability across the supply chain.
"These are not the actions or policies of an institution that endorses illegal mining," the statement said, framing the edited video as an attempt to distort a formalisation policy into something it never was.
GoldBod maintains that illegal and irresponsible mining must end, but argues the realistic path forward for operators who can lawfully transition is regularisation and regulation rather than leaving them to continue operating outside state oversight entirely.
The board tied its position back to its statutory mandate under Section 3(1)(f) of the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025, which specifically charges GoldBod with promoting the formalisation of small-scale mining through supply chain sustainability, framing the current controversy as a distraction from work already written into its legal responsibilities.
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