Guinea exported its first shipment of gold bars refined on its own soil on Friday, October 9, 2026, marking a decisive break from decades of exporting raw ore and a major step toward economic sovereignty for the world's second-largest bauxite producer.

The bars were refined by the Nimba Gold Refinery (NGR) , a $30-million private facility located in Gbessia, a district of Conakry near the international airport.

The refinery was designed to process between 2 and 4 tonnes of gold per day, with an annual capacity of 530 metric tonnes (about 17 million ounces) in its initial phase, expandable to 733 metric tonnes at full production.

Conté linked the milestone directly to President Mamadi Doumbouya's vision of transforming Guinea's mineral resources domestically.

The milestone follows a decisive regulatory shift. On July 8, 2026, the Guinean government issued a decree mandating the local refining of all gold produced in the country.

The decree introduced a 90-day transitional period that expired on October 6, 2026. After that date, only gold refined to a minimum purity of 95.5% by an authorised Guinean refinery and certified for export is permitted to leave the country.

Mamadou Sylla, Director of Precious Materials at the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea (BCRG) said the central bank now participates in certifying all gold exports, working alongside the national expertise bureau and customs services to ensure every gram is identified, controlled and documented before leaving Guinea.

Guinea's move places it alongside a growing bloc of West African producers seeking to capture more value from their gold. Ghana has already operationalised local refining through the Gold Coast Refinery, with the Ghana Gold Board supplying one tonne of gold per week. Mali and Burkina Faso have both introduced similar requirements, with Burkina Faso inaugurating its first refinery in September 2026.

Guinea exported 2.33 million ounces of gold in 2025, of which 1.59 million ounces came from artisanal mining — a sector that remains largely informal and presents the biggest challenge to feeding the new refinery. The government has announced plans for a national gold traceability registry to centralise records from production through export.