The Minerals Commission has stressed that the termination of the mineral rights of Northern Ashanti Mines Limited (NAML), formerly Owere Mines, is within the confines of the law.
The commission maintains that it followed due process at every stage of the process leading to the termination of mineral rights, explaining that the company was given several opportunities to regularise its position “and it chose not to.”
At a media briefing held in Accra yesterday, the Chief Executive Officer of the commission, Isaac Andrews Tandoh, stated that NAML failed to fulfil statutory obligations and responsibilities as required by every mining lease.
“A mineral right is not a gift, and it is not an inheritance! It is a privilege conferred by the State on terms, and those terms must be honoured!
No company, whether indigenous or foreign, may hold the resources of the Republic, withhold what is owed to the people of Ghana, and then turn around to cry foul when the law takes its course,” he stressed.
Sequence
Providing the sequence of events to the media, the CEO explained that in January 2010, the company known as Owere Mines acquired a mining lease covering 595 cadastral blocks.
Under section 24 of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) and the terms of the mining lease agreement, the company was bound to pay Annual Mineral Right ("AMR") fees to the Minerals Commission, but it did not.
Mr Tandoh said pursuant to section 68(2) of Act 703 and regulation 200(3) of the Minerals and Mining (Licensing) Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2176), it issued a Notice to Remedy Breach to Owere Mines on 28th May 2020, in respect of the outstanding obligations.
“The company was already in default in excess of $4 million,” the CEO added.
He explained that following the transitional takeover of the company by BCM Investments, the company responded with “some vague payment terms” to help settle the debt in four tranches.
“In good faith, in June 2020, the Minerals Commission accepted the principle of the payment terms but requested specifics, because no exact dates were given (only the year in which the company proposed to pay),” Mr Tandoh stated.
However, he explained, the company failed to adhere to it, “so, on 5th November 2020, the Minerals Commission wrote again to the company, notifying it of the breaches and flouting of their own proposed payment plans.”
Again, on 13th October 2022, two years after that, payments had not been received, so a further notice was served by the commission.
“By this time, the debt accumulation was up to $5.59 million. Yet again, by 29th December 2022, when the Minerals Commission notified the company of non-payment, the debt accumulation was sitting at an amount of $6.18 million,” the commission added.
More details
Providing further details, Mr Tandoh stated that on April 14, 2025, yet another notice was served, including one for fees owed for the Prospecting Licences from 2019 to 2025.
“As at that time, the total owed in respect of the mining leases stood at $8.33 million, and the amount owed in respect of prospecting licences was US$49,928.
The company again failed to comply.”
Again, it said on April 7, 2026, a full year after the last Notice and in accordance with the law, the Minerals Commission identified that the non-payment of the Annual Mineral Rights by the company was flagrant and deliberate, and subsequently notified the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, requesting that a notice of termination be served on the company.
“The Minister then proceeded to approve the issuance of the notice of termination. It was after this that the Minerals Commission proceeded to terminate the mineral rights.
“The company now claims that the $8 million figure is wrong.
We invite the public to do the arithmetic. As at 29th December 2022, the debt stood at approximately $6 million,” Mr Tandoh added.
The CEO said Northern Ashanti Mines Limited remained in default thereafter, and the debt continued to accrue through 2025, bringing the total to $8.33 million in respect of the mining leases.
Furthermore, the Minerals Commission maintains that its records show that the AMR actually paid by the company amounted to $300,000, paid in two tranches, and not the $1 million purported by Northern Ashanti Mines Limited.
“The Minerals Commission reserves the right, and shall pursue the Company to pay all sums it owes to the State.
Again, we want to be clear, the State has the responsibility to protect and secure the assets that have reverted to it from being dissipated or overrun by encroachers or other illegal actors,” Mr Tandoh stressed.
No dialogue
The CEO said the company had duly acknowledged receipt of the termination notice, and yet it had chosen the courts.
It advised Northern Ashanti Mines Limited to pursue its actions in the courts and not resort to the court of public opinion.
Mr Tandoh also challenged the company’s “claims to have spent $200 million on the mine”, and asked, “what prevented it from paying the $8 million owed to the people of Ghana”.
He also asserted that Northern Ashanti Mines Limited could not claim to be seeking dialogue when it had sued the Lands Minister, the Minerals Commission and the Attorney-General.
“It is a company seeking to litigate in court and in the media simultaneously. That is improper, and it is contemptuous of the judicial process,” Mr Tandoh stated.
Background
A letter dated April 30, 2026, signed by the CEO of the Minerals Commission, announced the revocation of NAML’s lease covering the Konongo mining area in the Ashanti Region.
However, the mining company contested the revocation, saying it is without lawful authority and in breach of mandatory procedures under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), and the Minerals and Mining (Licensing) Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2176).
