GoldBod makes XRF definitive for gold purity assessment from October 1

The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has announced changes to the assay regime for determining the purity of gold purchased locally, with the new system taking effect from October 1.

Under the new regime, the Water Density method will only be used as an indicative assessment of gold purity and will no longer serve as the definitive basis for pricing or payment.

GoldBod said X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) assay will instead become the definitive method for determining the purity of gold doré purchased by the Board and its licensed buyers.

“With effect from 1st October 2026, the Water Density method of assay shall be used solely as an indicative assessment of gold purity for local gold purchases and shall not constitute the definitive basis for determining the purity, pricing and/or payment for gold purchased by the GoldBod or its licensed buyers,” GoldBod said in a compliance notice issued on Monday, September 28.

The Board explained that where a licensed buyer is unable to use XRF due to genuine operational or logistical constraints, or where both the buyer and seller voluntarily agree to use the Water Density method, the gold doré will be purchased at a 0.7% purity discount based on the purity determined through the Water Density method.

GoldBod also introduced a purity differential or tolerance requirement for successive XRF assay reports relating to the same gold or transaction.

It said licensed buyers must maintain the permissible purity differential between successive XRF reports within a range of plus or minus 0.1%.

“Any purity differential exceeding this deviation limit shall be subject to further verification before the transaction is concluded or reported to the GoldBod,” the Board said.

GoldBod said the new requirements are intended to ensure consistency in the determination of gold purity and strengthen the integrity of local gold purchases.

All aggregators and licensed buyers have been directed to comply with the new regime from October 1.

The Board said the compliance notice will form part of, and be read together with, the terms and conditions of all licences issued to aggregators and licensed gold buyers.

Failure to comply with the requirements will constitute a breach of the applicable licence terms and may attract regulatory and enforcement measures under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140).