Wassa Fiase chiefs oppose renewal of Gold Fields’ Tarkwa mining lease, push for Ghanaian operator
The Wassa Fiase Traditional Council has urged the government not to renew Gold Fields Ghana Limited’s Tarkwa mining lease, calling instead for a Ghanaian operator to take over the mine when the current agreement expires.
Chiefs in the Wassa Fiase Traditional Area have urged President John Dramani Mahama to nationalize the Tarkwa Gold Mine when Gold Fields Ghana Limited's mining leases expire in April 2027. The government currently possesses a 10 percent stake in the mine, while Gold Fields holds 90 percent. At a meeting of the Wassa Fiase Traditional Council on November 4, 2026, the chiefs argued that decades of mining had yielded inadequate benefits for the local communities, citing poor infrastructure, limited investment, and delayed royalty payments.
The Apinto Divisional Council, which governs the mine's location, has also petitioned the government to avoid renewing Gold Fields' leases, favoring a Ghanaian investor who could better manage the mine and invest in the surrounding communities. The Queen Mother of the Wassa Fiase Traditional Area, Nana Abena Konadwoa II, expressed frustration over the lack of progress in addressing road and infrastructure needs, despite repeated appeals to Gold Fields.
She questioned the company's contribution to community projects, citing the company's substantial 2025 and first-half-2026 profits. Nana Abena Konadwoa II mentioned road, hospital, an astroturf pitch, and an airport project in Damang, areas where the mine's transfer to Ghanaian ownership had already occurred, as examples of the type of investment the communities desired.
The Apinto Divisional Council's registrar revealed that delayed royalty payments were being held in an account, pending the resolution of an ongoing land dispute. Tarkwa is one of Ghana's principal gold-producing mines, with five mining leases covering approximately 20,825 hectares. The mine operates four large open pits and features a plant capable of processing around 13.5 million tonnes of ore annually.
Mining activities in Tarkwa began in the 1930s, and Gold Fields assumed management in 1993 under a government agreement, completing the initial open-pit development phase in 1998. Underground operations concluded the following year as open-pit mining expanded.
Written by urgent.news from Joy Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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