Government Moves To Cut Large Scale Mining Leases From 30 To 20 Years

Government is seeking to reduce the maximum initial duration of large scalemining leases in Ghana from 30 years to 20 years as part of a wider overhaul of the country’s minerals and mining regime.

Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah saysthe proposed reform is intended to prevent mining companies and concession holders from tying up

Ghana’s mineral resources for decades withoutsufficiently developing them.

He disclosed the policy direction during a strategic working visit and policy dialogue between the Ministryof Lands and Natural Resources and the IMANICentre for Policy and Education in Accra.

The engagement followed IMANI’s August10, 2026 requestfor a structured assessment of the Ministry’s inherited situation, performance, operational challenges, reforms and major policy initiatives.

Present at the meeting were Armah Kofi Buah, senior officials of the Ministry and representatives of agencies under it, includingthe Minerals Commission, Forestry Commission, Lands Commission and Ghana Geological Survey Authority.

The IMANI delegation was led by Franklin Cudjoe, Founding President and CEO of IMANI, and includedSelorm Branttie, Vice President for Strategy; Kay Codjoe, writer and IMANI associate; and Ransford Brobbey, IMANI associate.

According to the Minister, government has completed a major reviewof mining policy which is now being translated into proposed legislation before Parliament.

One of the most significant changesconcerns the length of mining leases.

Under the existing arrangement described by the Minister, a large scalemining lease can run for as long as 30 years.

Government wants the maximuminitial period reducedto 20 years.

“Twenty years, whatever profit you want to make, you want to make it,” Kofi Buah told the meeting, arguing that the State must retain an opportunity to reconsider the use of its mineral resources after a reasonable period.

But the proposed reforms go beyond the headline20 year limit.

Governmentalso intends to tighten the rules governing reconnaissance, prospecting and exploration licences.

Kofi Buah said Ghana has suffered from a system in which individuals and companies acquire mineralconcessions and hold them for long periods without carryingout serious exploration or mining.

According to him, some concession holderseffectively wait for larger investorsto arrive before attempting to sell or transfer their interests.

“The wholeof Ghana has basicallybeen given out and peopleare just sittingon concessions for 30, 40 years. They are not doing anything. They are waiting for the next big investor to come so they can cash out.”

The new approach would impose stricterwork obligations andtimelines.

The Ministerindicated that concession holders would have to demonstrate within specified periods that genuine exploration and development activity is taking place.

He also outlined a proposed five year framework for exploration related rights, with licence holders expectedto demonstrate seriousness through approved work programmes.

Another major reform would give mining communities a greater role before licencesare issued.

Government is proposing District Mining Committees that wouldexamine applications affecting particular communities before final decisions are taken.

Under the system described by the Minister,officials would visit the proposed mining area and assessissues including water bodies, farms, settlements and other communityinterests before making recommendations to the Minerals Commission.

The reforms would also require mining companies to enterinto community development agreements with affected communities.

Kofi Buah said this would preventcompanies from unilaterally deciding what constitutes corporate social responsibility while communities have different development priorities.

The community and mining companywould instead establishagreed development obligations covering identified local needs.

The discussion also touched on the Adamus Resources matter. Franklin Cudjoe urged the Ministry to give the company a final structured opportunity to correct identified breaches, while stressing that Ghanaian investors should receive the same regulatory fairness and protection extended to foreign investors.

Kofi Buah indicated that the Ministry remained open toengagement where an operator was genuinely willing to comply.

The proposedreforms therefore raisea much bigger question than simply whether mining leases should last 20 or 30 years.

They represent an attempt to change who controls Ghana’smineral concessions, how long those rights can be held, what licence holders must do to retain them, and how much influence mining communities have over what happens on their land.

The next critical test will be Parliament.
The precise provisions that survive the legislative process will determine whether Ghana genuinely ends the era of dormantconcessions or merely replaces one licensing regime with another.

Kay Codjoe