Gold prices hit a new record high in 2026, reaching $4,800 an ounce in mid-January, prompting African producers to accelerate local value-add strategies to secure higher export earnings. With prices expected to rise towards $7,000 an ounce in the medium term as global demand continues, countries including Ghana, South Africa, Egypt, Mali and Angola are investing in domestic beneficiation to unlock further economic growth through the monetization of high-value locally refined gold products.
regional partnership
As part of its efforts to expand its processing capacity for gold dore from artisanal miners to 1,000 kg per day, Ghana’s Gold Coast Refinery has signed an agreement with South Africa’s Rand Refinery to access technical, operational and commercial expertise. The partnership supports Ghana’s national agenda to strengthen artisanal mining, which accounts for the majority of Ghana’s gold production and generates approximately $10 billion in export revenue by 2025. By increasing the share of domestically refined artisanal gold, Ghana intends to strengthen its export earnings by selling high-value locally processed gold products on the global market.
Egypt also aims to increase added value through finance and infrastructure development. In December 2025, the Central Bank of Egypt and the African Export-Import Bank signed an agreement to establish a Pan-African Gold Bank in Egypt. The initiative will create an integrated gold ecosystem, including an internationally certified refinery, secure storage facilities, and associated trading and financial services. The project aims to enable local and regional gold processing and international trade in value-added gold products, helping African producers to recover the full monetary value of their resources. The agreement supports the strategy outlined by Egyptian Mineral Resources and Mining Authority Chairman Yasser Ramadan during Africa Mining Week 2025, which aims to leverage Egypt’s strategic position in the Horn of Africa as the main trading window for African gold to global markets.
Infrastructure development milestones
Several African countries are moving beyond partnerships and policy frameworks to develop physical gold processing infrastructure. In Mali, Africa’s second-largest gold producer, construction of a 200-tonne-per-year gold refinery will begin in 2025. Developed in partnership with Russia’s Jadran Group, the facility will increase revenue from gold exports, allowing the country to generate $140 billion annually from value-added gold exports. In 2024, Mali generated just $1.4 billion from mining sector exports.
In Angola, state mining company Endiama is nearing completion of the country’s first gold refinery, a facility capable of producing 50 kg of gold per day. Developed as part of Angola’s 2023-2027 Sectoral Development Plan Economic Development Strategy, the refinery is expected to position Angola as a supplier of high-value gold products while maximizing revenues from its mineral resources.
Taken together, these developments highlight a broader shift towards benefits across the continent, driven by strong gold prices, supportive policy reforms and the need to strengthen fiscal resilience. African gold producing countries are looking to strengthen the sector’s long-term contribution to economic growth by investing in refining capacity.
