Global commodity trading firm Trafigura has signed an offtake agreement with Heath Goldfields Limited, a Ghana-owned mining company, to buy 700,000 ounces of gold dore from the Bogoso–Prestea mine in the Western Region of Ghana.
In addition to the offtake, Trafigura is providing $65 million in debt financing to support the restart of the mine’s oxide ore operations.
A statement issued on April 8, 2026, Trafigura said under the agreement it will act as an offtaker for gold dore (a semi-processed gold product) generated at the Bogoso-Prestea processing facility, with deliveries expected to start later this year.
At today’s gold price of approximately US$3,300 per ounce, the agreement is worth north of US$2.3 billion.
However, even at the conservative benchmark of US$4,000 per ounce, a figure many analysts consider the floor for gold’s medium-term trajectory, the deal represents an astonishing US$2.8 billion in committed offtake value.
The numbers are staggering as they are coming from a mine that was silent just two years ago.
Heath Goldfields completed the first gold pour at the site in February, marking the restart of production after two years, according to the statement.
“Bogoso–Prestea is a producing asset with a strong operational team and LBMA compliance, and we look forward to applying our physical trading expertise and market access in support of a Ghanaian-owned operation of this quality,” Mr Gonzalo De Olazaval, Head of metals and minerals at Trafigura said.
According to Trafigura, this marks its first transaction in Ghana’s gold sector and the company’s second gold deal on the African continent.
Trafigura, which operates across more than 150 countries and employs nearly 14,500 people, is not a firm that takes bets lightly.
Its commitment to Bogoso-Prestea, including the US$65 million in accompanying debt financing to restart the mine’s oxide ore operations, is as powerful an endorsement as the Ghanaian mining sector has received in a generation.
“This is not just a commercial milestone, it is a statement of confidence in Ghana’s mining sector and in the ability of an indigenous operator to deliver at scale,” Mr Patrick Appiah Mensah, Managing Director of Heath Goldfields said in a statement that captured the historic weight of the moment.
Bogoso-Prestea has been producing gold since 1912, accumulating more than 9 million ounces over its lifetime.
The mine went dark during a prolonged shutdown, but Heath Goldfields, a proudly Ghanaian-owned company, stepped in with a vision to bring it back. They poured the first gold in February 2026, just two months ago.
In the weeks since, the company indicated it has already exceeded its capital raise milestones, created more than 1,400 direct and indirect jobs, and engaged over 15 local contracting firms.
For Trafigura, this gold transaction is a signal that the world’s commodity giants are paying close attention to West Africa’s most prolific gold-producing nation.
Ghana has long held the title of Africa’s largest gold producer, and deals like this one reinforce that position in an era of surging gold prices and intensifying global demand for responsibly sourced precious metals.
Transaction advisors
The transaction was structured by Verdant IMAP, a pan-African investment bank with deep roots in metals and mining M&A and backed by legal teams from Sullivan in London and JLD & MB Legal Consultancy in Accra, a combination that underscores the cross-border sophistication of the deal.
With gold testing new highs in 2026 and institutional appetite for African mining assets at its strongest in years, the Heath Goldfields-Trafigura agreement may well mark the opening chapter of a new era for Ghana’s gold sector, one led, for the first time, by an indigenous operator with the partnerships to match its ambition.
