• Ghana plans partnership with Zimbabwe firm to support small-scale miners
• Financing center and technical support aim to boost output and formalization
• Artisanal gold already surpasses industrial output, with higher targets ahead

Ghana seeks to draw on Zimbabwe’s experience to strengthen its artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASM) sector and bring a largely informal industry into the formal economy.

On April 24, GoldBod, Ghana’s regulator for the ASM sector, said it had begun discussions with Better Brands Zimbabwe on a potential partnership. The goal is to tap into the Zimbabwean firm’s expertise to support small-scale miners nationwide and accelerate their integration into formal production channels.

At the center of the talks is a plan to establish a dedicated financing hub for artisanal miners. The facility would offer access to credit along with operational support, aiming to ease one of the sector’s main constraints: limited access to capital. The proposed partnership would also cover technical aspects, including the supply of mining equipment such as explosives, generators, and fuel to help improve productivity.

The two parties expect to launch the project in the coming months, with timelines already set for selecting sites where operations could begin. For GoldBod, the partnership is strategic. Better Brands Zimbabwe serves as the main gold buying agent for the Zimbabwean government, giving it experience in both financing and supporting small-scale mining operations.

In a statement, GoldBod said the planned financing center and technical assistance would be “a critical step” toward increasing productivity, improving compliance, and raising official gold deliveries through legal channels. The initiative is also expected to support broader efforts to maximize the value of the gold sector while protecting livelihoods.

Scaling up a high-stakes sector

GoldBod’s choice of partner also reflects the structure of Zimbabwe’s gold industry. While Zimbabwe produces less gold overall than Ghana, Africa’s top producer, its ASM sector is highly developed and has historically accounted for about 65% of national output, according to available estimates.

Ghana is aiming to replicate that dynamic while reducing the role of informality and smuggling, which still weigh heavily on the sector. The objective is to sustain recent gains as reforms led by GoldBod accelerate.

In its first full year of operation in 2025, the state-backed regulator helped drive a 60% increase in artisanal gold production, which reached 3.1 million ounces (96.4 tons). That output surpassed industrial production, estimated at 2.9 million ounces, and generated around $10 billion in export revenues.

Even higher levels are now being targeted, with annual production expected to reach about 127 tons over the next three years. The extent to which the partnership with Better Brands Zimbabwe will contribute to these goals remains to be seen, especially as Ghana rolls out other initiatives, including investments in geological studies to identify new areas suitable for artisanal mining.

Ghana’s efforts also reflect a broader trend across Africa, as rising gold prices in recent years push governments to better regulate artisanal mining and capture more revenue. Burkina Faso, Mali, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have all recently introduced measures to bring more of their ASM output into formal channels.

Aurel Sèdjro Houenou