GoldBod's 88 tonnes beat the big miners but trail its 3-tonne weekly minimum

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• Updated, 13 November 2026 at 08:02 UK: The 88 tonnes of small-scale gold in the 2027 Budget beat large-scale mines on volume and value, but the implied pace is about 2 tonnes a week, short of GoldBod's stated 3-tonne weekly minimum, and the implied prices do not match.

  Small-scale miners, selling through the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), have exported 88 tonnes of gold worth US$12 billion since January 2026, according to the [2027 Budget Statement](https://mofep.gov.gh/sites/default/files/budget-statements/2027-Budget-Statement-and-Economic-Policy_.pdf) (paragraphs 965–969). That is more than the 80.64 tonnes, worth US$10.23 billion, shipped by large-scale mines. Artisanal and small-scale gold now makes up 52.2% of the combined volume and 54.0% of its value. Those export figures, and the planned 3% discount on small-scale gold purchases in 2027, were already reported in this story. The Statement also allows a closer look at the pace and the implied price. **Pace.** GoldBod's website says it undertakes the purchase and export of "a minimum of 3 tons of gold every week". Eighty-eight tonnes over the 45 weeks from 1 January to the budget's presentation on 12 November works out at about 2 tonnes a week. Even if the figure ran only to the end of September, the rate would be 2.26 tonnes. Either way it is below the stated minimum. **Price.** Divide value by volume and small-scale gold fetched about US$4,241 an ounce, against US$3,946 for large-scale gold, a premium of 7.5%. Both are priced off the same world market, so a gap that size needs explaining. Rounding does not close the gap: if the true value were anywhere from US$11.5 billion to US$12.5 billion, the implied price would still range from US$4,065 to US$4,418. Different cut-off dates, shipment timing or valuation methods could explain it. The statement does not say which. Gold made up 69.9% of export receipts to September, and gold exports rose 49.4% to US$19.8 billion in the first nine months, the statement says. GoldBod [sold US$1.011 billion of foreign exchange to banks in October](https://goldbod.sfo3.digitaloceanspaces.com/press-releases/uV1NChcWMmufj2O8tc4fucNsz7CJuXP5fRSKf0qp.pdf) and expects to generate US$1.2 billion in November, of which US$800 million is earmarked for banks. The budget credits the scheme with cutting the cost of building reserves from 16% in 2025 to 5% in 2026, and now plans the 3% discount to push that cost to 2%. At Thursday's LBMA afternoon price of US$3,870.20 an ounce, as published by [GoldBod](https://goldbod.gov.gh/), 3% is a discount of US$116.11 an ounce on the price small-scale sellers receive. The 88 tonnes are worth about GHS 140.5 billion at the Bank of Ghana's 12 November mid-rate of GHS 11.71. None of this means the numbers are wrong. It means they are incomplete. GoldBod and the finance ministry could settle both questions by publishing the period covered and the basis of valuation. Until then, the headline 88 tonnes is a claim worth checking, not a fact worth repeating. The GHS 389 billion figure in the earlier headline is the Budget's total spending, not a GoldBod allocation.