A Ghanaian gold miner says it may take its fight with the state to international courts after losing its mining lease. Northern Ashanti Mines director Fred Okine told Citi FM on 22 October that the board would act if the Minerals Commission and the lands minister refused to talk, but would drop aggressive litigation if both sides agreed to dialogue, The Rio Times reported.
The government granted the company a lease of about 125 square kilometres at Konongo on 20 February 2023. The Minerals Commission ended it in a letter dated 30 April 2026. The company requested a review on 4 May and petitioned lands minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah on 20 May, without reply, it says.
In court and on site
Northern Ashanti Mines has applied for judicial review at the High Court in Accra against the Minerals Commission, the minister and the Attorney-General, asking the court to quash the termination and bar any unlawful reallocation of the concession. It argues it was never told of a breach or given a chance to fix one, and says it had an instalment arrangement the regulator had accepted. The company says it has invested $120 million over three years; that figure has not been independently verified.
On 22 October, military and police reportedly took control of the site during a production meeting and told workers to leave. No authority has publicly explained the deployment, and the consortium said to hold the lease now has not been identified. Estimates of affected workers range from about 220 in a court affidavit to about 430 cited by the general manager.
A pattern of revocations
In April Ghana revoked three gold leases held by Adamus Resources, citing alleged breaches of the Minerals and Mining Act. The minister upheld that decision on 10 August, but after a presidency meeting the government agreed on 21 August to a joint six-member team and a 12-month turnaround roadmap, MyJoyOnline reported. Nothing reported so far links the two cases.
Ghana’s tougher line on licence compliance is colliding with investors’ demand for due process, and the courts will decide where the boundary lies.
What to watch
- A hearing date or interim order in the Accra judicial review.
- Whether the government names the new leaseholder or explains the security deployment.
