The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has directed all licensed gold buyers in the country to adopt X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) technology as the official method for determining gold purity effective September 1, 2026.

The directive is contained in a compliance notice issued on Monday, August 17, as part of measures to improve the accuracy and consistency of gold purity assessments across the industry.

Under the new system, XRF testing will serve as the final and authoritative basis for determining the purity of gold doré purchased by GoldBod and its licensed buyers, as well as calculating payments due.

GoldBod said the water density method, which is currently used by some buyers, will no longer be recognised as the definitive method of determining gold purity once the new directive takes effect.

Licensed buyers have therefore been instructed to acquire appropriate XRF equipment and use the technology to test gold at the point of purchase.

They must also ensure that staff operating the equipment receive the necessary training and that proper records are kept for every XRF measurement conducted.

Water density method to attract discount

GoldBod acknowledged that some licensed buyers could face genuine operational or logistical difficulties in obtaining or using XRF equipment.

Where such circumstances arise, buyers may temporarily rely on the water density method, but results obtained through that process will only be considered indicative.

In such cases, buyers are required to apply a minimum 0.5 percent purity discount to the measurement obtained through the water density test.

GoldBod will subsequently conduct its own XRF assessment, with that result serving as the final basis for establishing the gold’s purity and determining the applicable payment.

The Board has also instructed licensed aggregators to obtain suitable XRF machines and provide them to their Tier 2 and Tier 1 buyers, or sub-aggregators, to ensure purity testing is conducted accurately at the point of purchase.

GoldBod sets XRF deviation limit

Licensed buyers have further been directed to apply a purity deviation, or splitting, limit when comparing successive XRF reports relating to the same gold or transaction.

GoldBod has set the allowable difference between two XRF results at plus or minus 0.05 percent.

Any variation beyond that threshold must be subjected to additional verification and reconciliation before the transaction is finalised or reported to GoldBod.

The Board said the new requirements will become part of the terms and conditions governing licences issued to aggregators and licensed gold buyers.

It warned that failure to comply with the directive would constitute a breach of licence conditions and could result in regulatory or enforcement action under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140).

GoldBod has consequently urged all licensed buyers and aggregators to acquire the required equipment, train their personnel and make the necessary preparations ahead of the September 1 deadline.