Blockchain Proposed as a Solution for Gold Tracking in Ghana

Gold smuggling costs Ghana $2 billion in lost revenue. The head of the national company announced an initiative to put the tracking on an immutable ledger. The move aims to recapture that loss, stabilize the national currency, and ensure fair pricing.

Rebecca Denton

Apr 02, 2025 - 2 min read

Ghana is looking to implement a blockchain-based tracking system for gold, ensuring transparency from the mining stage to export. The move aims to transform the country's gold sector and reduce illegal exports.

Sammy Gyamfi, the Acting Managing Director of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), outlined the new initiative during an interview with Joy News.

The Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) is a state-owned enterprise in Ghana responsible for the export of precious minerals, particularly gold and diamonds. Established in 1963, it operates under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.

In January 2025, President John Dramani Mahama appointed Sammy Gyamfi as the Acting Managing Director of PMMC. This appointment was part of the administration's initiative to revitalize Ghana's economy through improved management of its mineral resources.

Gyamfi was tasked with establishing the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) to oversee the sustainable management and marketing of Ghana's gold resources, formalize the small-scale gold mining sector, and enhance regulatory oversight.

The bill was presented to Parliament but faced considerable scrutiny from the opposition. The proposal to incorporate blockchain appears to be part of this process, with Gyamfi aiming to enhance the bill through technological innovation.

Gyamfi stated that under this new system, every licensed miner would be registered in a national database, and each production batch would receive a unique digital code. As the gold moves through the supply chain—from miner to buyer to exporter—each transaction would be recorded instantly on a blockchain platform.

He expects the new system to significantly reduce smuggling and recover lost public revenue, which currently stands at approximately $2 billion annually. Additionally, an anti-smuggling task force will be created to enforce compliance.

As of the publication date, no specific details on the proposed platform or its technical features had been disclosed.

Due to its immutable nature, blockchain-based systems are frequently proposed as solutions for tracking real-world assets. Government projects like Sweden's and the Republic of Georgia's land registry databases garnered significant global attention but ultimately failed to deliver functional systems. A major challenge is the reliance of these blockchain systems on off-chain centralized data sources and off-chain centralized enforcement, which undermines their supposed immutability and decentralization.