Africa’s Gold Producers Scramble to Capitalize on Soaring Prices

Astronomical price increases are also attracting organized crime groups in Africa, which produces more than a quarter of the world’s gold.

A man melts pure gold fragments coming from different mines in the region, at a gold market in Geita, Tanzania, on May 28, 2022. Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images

JOHANNESBURG—In April 2022, gold cost almost $1,950 per ounce. That price is now just short of $3,425, and Africa’s producers are scrambling to take advantage of a windfall propelled by market uncertainty, according to mineral market analysts.

The big producers, such as Ghana and South Africa, are selling the precious metal mostly to traders and investors in the United States who are putting their money into gold—a commodity that thrives during times of instability, economists said. They warned that the U.S. rush on gold is alienating other countries that are usually big investors in the metal.