Ghanaian company seeks to block takeover of $110m mine
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on MyJoyOnline
Northern Ashanti Mines Limited Company is asking Ghana’s courts to block the takeover of its Konongo concession, where $110 million in investments is reportedly at risk. The company says Minerals Commission officials, accompanied by military personnel, ordered it to leave, according to MyJoyOnline.
Northern Ashanti Mines Limited wants to prevent the Ghanaian state from taking over its gold concession in Konongo, in the Ashanti Region, where it says it has invested about $110 million. The company has applied to the Commercial Division of the Accra High Court for an injunction against the Minerals Commission and the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, according to MyJoyOnline.
The application seeks to prevent the authorities from taking possession of the mine or reallocating it to third parties until the court rules on the termination of the mining lease. Northern Ashanti Mines’ administrative director, Jonathan Adongo, says Minerals Commission officials accompanied by military personnel went to the site on 22 October 2026 and ordered the company, its employees and its workers to leave the mine, offices and accommodation before midday, MyJoyOnline reports.
The company, which is wholly Ghanaian-owned and was formerly called Owere Mines Limited, says it renewed its lease on 2 February 2023 for 13 years, covering an area of about 125 sq km. It says it spent more than $83.34 million and secured more than $30 million in financing to build a gold-processing plant, which is more than 50% complete. The company directly and indirectly employs about 422 people, according to the affidavit cited by MyJoyOnline.
The dispute follows a termination notice dated 30 April 2026. The Minerals Commission accuses Northern Ashanti Mines of failing to rectify breaches within the prescribed deadlines, while the company says it received neither a notice of breach nor an opportunity to remedy them, according to MyJoyOnline.
