Ethiopia gold refinery opens with more than 600 tonnes of yearly capacity

Ethiopia has inaugurated a National Precious Metals Refinery with capacity for more than 600 tonnes a year, owned 51% by the state through Ethiopian Investment Holdings. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed says the aim is to replace raw exports in a country where gold earned about half of last year’s export revenue.

Ethiopia inaugurated its National Precious Metals Refinery on 10 October in Addis Ababa’s Bole Lemi Special Economic Zone, a facility with announced capacity of more than 600 tonnes of precious metals a year, built to test, refine and cast gold into export-ready bullion and to produce gold and silver bars.

State-owned Ethiopian Investment Holdings holds 51% of the venture and Sam Precious Metals the remaining 49%, according to Ecofin, and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said at the inauguration that “the primary objective is to gradually reduce and replace the practice of exporting raw materials”.

Gold earned Ethiopia $5.5bn in export revenue in the 2025/26 fiscal year, about half of its $11bn total, Abiy reported in July, and the IMF’s fifth review of Ethiopia’s programme, published the same month, described chartered flights carrying raw Ethiopian gold to Dubai as its sole refining destination.

The refinery’s capacity runs well ahead of Ethiopia’s own output, which the IMF’s fourth review projected at about 30 tonnes for 2025/26, down from 39 tonnes the year before, partly because stockpiles had been depleted. The government is positioning the plant as a regional hub offering refining and certification services to neighbouring countries and to mining companies across Africa.

The National Bank of Ethiopia remains the country’s sole authorised gold exporter, and the refinery now gives it the option of exporting bullion cast in Addis Ababa.

Images: Office of the Prime Minister – Ethiopia