As part of extensive reforms aimed at increasing foreign exchange reserves and stabilizing the local currency, Ghana, the largest gold producer in Africa, announced on Monday that it would ban foreigners from its gold market.

The ban will take effect on 1 May and gives a public body, the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), the exclusive power to regulate and control artisanal and small-scale gold mining. GoldBod spokesman Prince Kwame Minkah said in a statement that “all foreigners are informed that they must leave the local gold market no later than 30 April.” Noted that many Chinese nationals are active in Ghana's informal mining and commercial ecosystem and have been repeatedly accused of illegal activities, including unauthorized gold exports and environmental degradation.