The information gathered suggests there is a brewing grand plot by some faceless elements within the new John Mahama-led administration to capture Ghana’s entire mining sector.
It has been alleged that these faceless elements are using a certain Cabinet Minister as their puppet in this grand scheme.
Sources and documents suggest that these powerful and influential elements within the John Mahama-led government have been going after every large local mining firm and foreign mining firm in Ghana in their plots to capture Ghana’s entire mining sector to benefit just a few people and not the entire country.
It must be noted that Goldfields was taken over recently. Heath Gold, owned by Kwabena Duffuor, is facing orchestrated protests demanding their licenses to be terminated, with a newspaper headline saying, “Calls mount to terminate Heath GoldFields lease”.
Adamus is also facing similar protests, with reports by the Daily Guide stating “Tension Over Adamus Mines”
Sam Jonah, Angela List, Kwabena Duffuor, Newmont, Zijin, and AngloGold have all been attacked by these faceless individuals within the Mahama government due to their greed to capture Ghana’s mining sector to benefit themselves.
It will be recalled the minority in parliament had alleged that Ghana is dangerously drifting towards state capture in the mining sector, just one year into President John Dramani Mahama’s administration.
According to the NPP minority, Ibrahim Mahama, brother of President John Mahama, is wielding undue influence in Ghana’s mining sector.
They alleged that since the President’s return to office, companies linked to Ibrahim Mahama have gained unprecedented and unfair advantages.
Speaking to journalists in Parliament, the Minority Spokesperson on Lands and Natural Resources, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, stated, “Now Ghana stands today at a defining moment in our natural resource governance. Barely one year into the administration of President John Dramani Mahama, we are witnessing what can only be described as a dangerous drift towards state capture in the mining sector,” Mr Ampratwum-Sarpong stated.
“This is not an abstract concern. This is not rhetorical or alarmist. This is unfolding in real time through decisions, patterns, and actions that threaten our institutional integrity, economic stability, and democratic accountability.”
Meanwhile, reports suggest Ghana’s Minerals Commission has set December 2026 as a deadline for mining companies to shift operations to local firms.
Sources and documents say the mining companies’ failure to comply with these directives could result in fines and mine shutdowns.
However, Newmont, AngloGold and Zijin have all requested extensions, but the regulator rejected, sources and documents say.
According to a Reuters report, “Ghana’s mining regulator has given international companies Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti and Chinese-owned Zijin until December 2026 to shift mining operations over to local contractors or face sanctions, according to five sources with direct knowledge of the matter and documents”.
The Reauter report added, “The three companies currently operate the mines with their own staff. They are the only ones still doing so after many firms outsourced mining operations ahead of Ghana, Africa’s top gold producer, revising local ownership rules in January 2025 and requiring all miners to switch to contract mining.
Under the rules, surface mining must be undertaken by fully Ghanaian-owned firms, while underground mining must be carried out by companies with at least 50% Ghanaian ownership.
Apart from Newmont, Zijin and AngloGold Ashanti’s smaller Iduapriem gold mine, almost all large miners in Ghana have already transitioned to contract mining, two government officials and three mining executives said.
African governments have been tightening mining rules to extract more revenue against a backdrop of rising prices for minerals and metals produced. Mali ended a nearly two-year standoff with Barrick in November over enforcement of its new mining code”.
They further reported that Ghana’s Minerals Commission has asked Newmont, AngloGold and Zijin to fully comply with the contract mining requirements by December 2026.
In separate letters sent to the companies in October and January, reporters are reporting that the companies had separately requested extensions to allow full compliance.
However, the regulator has warned that miners who failed to meet the deadline could face sanctions, the letters showed.
“Zijin’s Ghana unit said it has been engaging with the Minerals Commission since November 2025 to comply with the local content rules, including preparing tenders and technical frameworks for a shift to contract mining, while rolling out new technologies that require initial benchmarking before a full tender process.
Newmont and AngloGold did not immediately respond to requests for comment”, the report added.