Guinea Orders Gold Refining Inside Country Before Export

June 22, 2026
By Mintesinot Nigussie

Guinea has ordered mining companies and gold traders to process the country’s gold domestically before exporting it, introducing a new policy aimed at shifting more mineral value-added activity inside its borders.

President Mamadi Doumbouya announced the measure during discussions with industrial and artisanal gold producers and gold-buying offices, saying the country would no longer allow unprocessed gold to leave Guinea.

The new rule requires gold extracted in Guinea to be melted, certified and converted into ingots at a newly built refinery in Conakry before being sold on international markets. Operators that continue exporting raw gold could face suspension of their licences and termination of mining agreements, the president said.

Doumbouya said Guinea, despite holding the second-largest gold reserves in West Africa, has historically exported the metal in raw form for processing and certification elsewhere.

The policy affects a sector that includes large-scale producers, semi-industrial operators and hundreds of artisanal miners. Guinea’s gold exports reached 22,142 kilograms in the first quarter of the year, according to data from the Ministry of Mines and Geology.

The country is one of Africa’s leading gold producers and the world’s largest bauxite producer. Gold production includes operations linked to major mining groups as well as smaller producers.

The government’s decision comes as Guinea seeks to increase domestic participation in mineral processing and retain more economic activity from its natural resources before commodities reach international markets.

Source: FSX Business News