By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Guinea plans to become a regional gold refining hub, the country’s mines minister said, joining in the push by West African producers of the precious mineral resource to process bullion locally, as against exporting it to the Middle East and other parts of the world.
This is seen as part of regional efforts to retain more value at home as gold prices soar.
“If each (West African) country has a refinery, there is no problem,” Reuters quoted the Mines Minister, Bouna Sylla as saying over the weekend.
According to the Minister, “If your refinery is not competitive, it will fail or succeed because of economics, not politics.”
President Mamady Doumbouya last week banned raw gold exports with immediate effect as the world’s top bauxite producer seeks to retain more value domestically.
Guinea has built a new refinery capable of processing output from across the region, Sylla said, describing it as among the largest in Africa.
The deputy head of Guinea’s Mining Investment Fund, Bangaly Steve Toure at a different occasion said the $30 million plant would initially process 530 metric tons (about 17 million ounces) a year, rising to 733 tons at full capacity.
Commercial operations are expected in July following final approvals.
Africa’s top gold producer Ghana, along with Mali, and Burkina Faso, is also seeking to develop a domestic refining hub to capture more value from refining at home.
Guinea’s industrial gold output is dominated by AngloGold Ashanti and Nordgold. West Africa produced about 11 million ounces in 2025, industry estimates say.
Sylla said Guinea produced roughly 2.32 million ounces last year, worth about $7 billion, but retains less than 1% of that value domestically.
“It is not just about revenue and jobs,” he said. “Countries like the UAE do not produce gold but built refining capacity to stimulate broader economic growth. We want to create the same value chain.”
Guinea is preparing a legislation to encourage local refining and plans reforms to formalise artisanal production and improve traceability by 2026, Sylla and Toure said.
