The Mineworkers Union has rejected the local contract mining directive by the Ghana Minerals Commission.
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.
The Mineworkers Union have argue multinationals offer better conditions of service, respect workers’ rights and comply consistently with legal obligations.
In a post by Joy FM, the Mineworkers Union were quoted to have said, “Mineworkers Union rejects local contract mining directive, argues multinationals offer better conditions of service, respect workers’ rights and comply consistently with legal obligations”.
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.
See the post below:
Mineworkers Union rejects local contract mining directive, argue multinationals offer better conditions of service, respect workers’ rights and comply consistently with legal obligations#JoyNews #Viral #Explorepage #Ghana #JoyFM #GhanaNews #Ghana #NewsUpdate #Africa #GhPolitics… pic.twitter.com/KzvFdLZM15
— Joy 99.7 FM (@Joy997FM) April 27, 2026