Kofi Bentil accuses Minerals Commission of undermining Ghanaian-owned mines

Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has accused the Minerals Commission of undermining Ghanaian-owned mining companies through what he describes as a questionable revocation of mining rights, urging the government to intervene and ensure that the law is respected.

He said the Commission’s actions against Northern Ashanti Mines Limited and other local mining firms raised concerns about the government’s commitment to promoting Ghanaian participation in the mining sector.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on Wednesday, October 28, Mr Bentil argued that the handling of the affected mines appeared to contradict the policy of indigenisation, which seeks to increase local ownership and participation in the industry.

“There seems to be a trend. And the trend is Ghanaian politicians backing the seizure of local mines,” he said, citing Northern Ashanti Mines, Adamus Resources and Narawa Mines as examples.

His comments come after Northern Ashanti Mines Limited challenged the Minerals Commission’s justification for taking over its Konongo premises, accusing the regulator of making false claims about its debt and mining activities.

• Read also: Northern Ashanti Mines challenges Minerals Commission over Konongo takeover, disputes $8.3m debt

The company has said it invested more than US$100 million in developing the mine after taking it over in 2019. It has also disputed the Commission’s claim that it complied with Section 68 of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), maintaining that it did not receive the required notice of a statutory breach before its mining lease and prospecting licence were revoked.

Mr Bentil said mining was a long-term investment that required substantial capital, warning that regulatory decisions that abruptly disrupted operations could undermine investor confidence.

“Mining is not a short-term thing and it’s not a small outlay,” he said, adding that Northern Ashanti Mines claimed to have invested about US$200 million in the project.

He argued that the company’s operational challenges should be assessed in their technical context, saying his understanding was that the mine had been stockpiling ore rather than processing gold.

“There’s a lot of technicality. And the Minerals Commission is aware,” he said.

Mr Bentil maintained that the Minerals and Mining Act provides a process for addressing breaches, including a statutory period within which a leaseholder may remedy a breach before revocation.

He questioned whether the Commission had followed the applicable legal requirements and called for the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, to explain the actions of the Commission, which operates under the Ministry.

“The law gives two windows. There’s a 120 days and then another one,” he said.

He also raised concerns about what he described as inconsistencies between presidential instructions on mining disputes and subsequent actions by the ministry, particularly in the case of Adamus Resources.

Mr Bentil said he had seen documentation suggesting that the minister issued a subsequent letter varying instructions given by the President, and questioned how such changes could occur.

He further cited the situation involving Narawa Mines, alleging that armed men had entered the mine and that a person had been shot dead. He described such incidents as serious criminal and regulatory concerns requiring investigation.

The IMANI Africa vice president said the issues went beyond the legal disputes surrounding individual mining leases and raised broader questions about the protection of local investment and the enforcement of the law.

“When we are calling for an indigenisation effort, when we have gone out and said, we should not renew Gold Fields’ licence, let’s find a way to give it to people who can show the capability to do, when we are going through all of these things, why are some people going on and acting directly in contravention of what is clearly the national interest?” he asked.

He also said the legal disputes surrounding the affected mines should be allowed to proceed through the courts, questioning the decision to take control of mining assets while cases were ongoing.

According to him, there were injunctions in some of the disputes, while the Adamus case involved a presidential letter on the matter.

Mr Bentil warned that the handling of the disputes could send the wrong signal to investors, particularly those bringing substantial capital into Ghana’s mining industry.

“These US$200 million these people have spent, I doubt if they raised their money in Ghana,” he said.

Northern Ashanti Mines has separately accused the Minerals Commission of failing to give it prior notice identifying a statutory breach before revoking its mining lease and prospecting licence.