In a historic move to a new, responsible era of small-scale gold mining, the presentation
marks the export of fully traceable, responsibly produced Ghanaian gold, for the first time in
the country’s history.
Accra, Ghana – 3rd June 2025
Typhoon Greenfield Development Ltd and MKS PAMP, in conjunction with Development
Gold International (DGI), have presented a limited run of unique gold bars to mark the first
export of fully traceable and responsibly produced gold sourced from Ghanaian small-scale mines.
The presentation was made last night (2nd June) to the King of the Ashanti Kingdom,
Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II, during the Mining in Motion summit at a gala dinner held at the
Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City Accra.
Six bars were donated for auction, with proceeds in aid of Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II’s charities supporting land restoration and clean water conservation.
Also attending the presentation were the Honorable Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, Ghanaian minister of land and natural resources; Kenneth Zikhale Ng’oma, minister of mining, Republic of Malawi; Colonel Ousmane Abarchi, minister of mines Republic of Niger; Wilmot Paye, minister of mines Liberia; Godard Gibolum deputy minister of mines DRC; Aboubacar Kourama, vice minister of mines Guinea-Conakry; Abdiwahab Abdi Omar, deputy minister of mineral resources republic of Somalia; Sammy Gyamfi, CEO of Ghana GoldBoard; and Cisse Vakabe, mining advisor to the president of Cote d’Ivoire.
In a historic partnership between Typhoon Greenfield Development Ltd, MKS PAMP, and
DGI, backed by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the first 445 grams of gold was produced by Typhoon Greenfield Development Ltd at its Adomanu mine and exported for refining at the MKS PAMP facilities in Switzerland.
This took place within the DGI initiative that enables small-scale mining operations to meet
international standards; specifically the Development Gold Ghana Performance Standard and the LBMA Responsible Sourcing Programme.
This pivotal achievement represents the culmination of years of collaborative efforts and marks a new era in the formalisation of the small-scale mining sector, positioning Ghana as a credible source of LBMA-compliant gold from small-scale mining entrepreneurs.
Max Afriyie-Barwuah, President of Development Gold International (DGI), said:
“This is a major milestone in the Ghanaian gold industry that has been many years in the making, working with mines in the field to build their technical capacity to meet international
standards. It signals the serious intention of small-scale miners in Ghana to meet
international standards and of LBMA Good Delivery List (GDL) refiners to recognise Ghana
as a source of formal and responsible gold from small-scale mines.
Our goal is to reduce
environmental degradation and enable these miners to access responsible gold markets
globally at scale.
”Kwaku Afrifa Nsiah-Asare, CEO of Typhoon Greenfield Development Ltd, said: “We are
thrilled to pioneer this home-grown Ghanaian responsible mining initiative DGI, and the first
small-scale mining business to have our operations assessed to the Development Gold
Ghana Performance Standard.
Doing so has opened the opportunity to work with the most respected businesses in the international gold market such as the LBMA GDL refinery, MKS PAMP.
Partnering with DGI has also assisted us operationally, building our team’s capacity
and enhancing our operating systems for greater efficiency and management of our mines’
environmental and social aspects. I expect others to follow and the formalisation of
small-scale mining in Ghana to scale rapidly”.
Omar Liess, Chief Commercial Officer of MKS PAMP, said: “This partnership represents a
significant step forward for responsible sourcing in the artisanal and small-scale mining sector in Ghana.
We’re proud to support this initiative and look forward to continued collaboration with our partners in Ghana to scale these efforts and inspire similar initiatives
globally.”
Ruth Crowell, Chief Executive of the LBMA, said: “The LBMA is encouraged by this
announcement. This is exactly the kind of initiative LBMA supports. Ghana is paving the way for similar arrangements between small-scale producers working with GDL refineries in a range of countries.
”DGI’s Development Gold Ghana Performance Standard was developed in conjunction with
mining industry experts at TDi Sustainability, to independently assess and verify the
responsible practices of small-scale gold miners.
The standard exists to create opportunities
for Ghana and other nations to redefine small-scale gold mining, following a history of illegal
mining, leading to ESG issues including deforestation, pollution, water contamination, habitatloss, safety risks, and social instability.
The initiative not only enhances the traceability of the gold supply chain through DGI’s tech mine-to-export platform, MineTrace, but also ensures that mining practices are environmentally sustainable and socially responsible.
Assheton Carter, Executive Chair of TDi Sustainability, said: “DGI is doing something very important; providing an indigenous Ghana-appropriate, progressive good-practice framework facilitating mine-site improvement at small-scale mines.
It is creating an assurance process
to demonstrate compliance with international due diligence expectations and, crucially, the
technical assistance and capacity development support to uplift this vital sector for the country.
“TDi has a long history of developing responsible value chains for minerals and ASM gold in particular.
It is never easy to do and takes time; in this case, four years of hard work on the
ground. We are unbelievably proud to be involved in the launch and roll out of this truly
African initiative.
”LBMA launched its responsible artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) programme in 2022,
the aim of which is to facilitate more responsibly sourced ASM gold into the LBMA Good Delivery List (GDL).
The LBMA identified Ghana as one of four countries globally that showed the most promise for increasing the flow of responsibly produced ASM gold to GDL refineries.
To that end, the LBMA hosted a significant high-level Ghana government delegation at its
responsible sourcing summit in 2023 that it co-convenes with the World Gold Council.
It was arranged for international delegations to visit Ghana in 2023 and 2024 to engage with gold supply-chain stakeholders. Since 2023, the LBMA has worked to facilitate responsible ASM sourcing from Ghana by its GDL refinery members, engaging with mines, traders, and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) LBMA also published an ASM Toolkit for GDL refineries to guide them in responsible sourcing from Small-Scale Mines (SSM) and to implement a system of
progressive improvement rather than just compliance.
Development Gold International: Development Gold International (DGI) is an NGO that
exists to create a viable and inclusive mining economy in Africa by linking international
markets with responsible, small-scale gold producers.
It is formed by and comprises
commercial and not-for-profit enterprises all of which are driven by the mission to
demonstrate mining as a core, catalytic, and responsible sector in sustainable mineral
economies. www.developmentgold.org
Typhoon Greenfield Development Ltd: Typhoon Greenfield Development Ltd is legally
classified as a small-scale mining company with operations in the Ashanti Region.
Since its inception, the organisation’s mission has been to create the most responsible and
sustainable small-scale mine in Ghana.
MKS PAMP: MKS PAMP is a global leader in precious metals, specializing in trading,
refining, and minting gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and other platinum group metal
products.
Part of the MKS PAMP GROUP, it brings over 60 years of expertise and operates
one of the industry's most advanced refineries and mints. Headquartered in Switzerland, the
company upholds the highest standards of quality, sustainability, and responsible sourcing.
MKS PAMP is one of only three approved Good Delivery Referees of both the LBMA and
LPPM worldwide.
Its flagship brand, PAMP, is the world’s leading bullion brand, known for the iconic Lady Fortuna™ design. Trusted by financial institutions, investors, and industries,
MKS PAMP champions transparency and ESG principles. www.mkspamp.com
LBMA:
The LBMA, or London Bullion Market Association, is the international trade
association that represents the global wholesale market for precious metals, ensuring integrity and transparency through standards and market services.
TDi Sustainability: TDi Sustainability is a global strategy and management consultancy and
implementation agency specialising in building responsible mineral value chains.
TDi has a reputation for taking on complex and tough challenges in some of the most difficult places to operate in the world.
We draw on our creativity, expertise, and our partnerships with national governments, local operators and institutions to deliver responsible, assured, traceable, and
economically successful enterprises and supply chains in precious, base and critical
minerals.
We are one of very few experts on artisanal and small-scale mining with experience in over 50 countries. www.tdi-sustainability.com
For further information, please contact our press office:
Sarah Wilkinson
Marketing Manager at TDi Sustainability
swilkinson@tdi-sustainability.com
Image caption L-R: Sammy Gyamfi, Ghana GoldBoard; Kwaku Afrifa Nsiah-Asare,
Typhoon Greenfield Development Ltd; Max Afriyie-Barwuah, Development Gold
International; Omar Liess, MKS PAMP; Oheneba Kwaku Duah, Son of the Asantehene;
Lower L-R: John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor, former President of Ghana; Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu
II, King of the Ashanti Kingdom
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