Ethiopia has commissioned its first gold refinery, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed
said, launching a $50m joint venture intended to establish the country as a
regional precious metals processing centre. Government data show gold exports
are a key source of foreign exchange, generating $5.6bn last year. Abiy said the
new refinery will process both domestically produced gold and material from
other countries. "This will allow neighboring countries and regional mining
companies to send gold to Ethiopia for advanced refining, certification,
value-added processing and sale, without having to export gold outside the
African continent," he said on social media.
