Ghana is expected to replace a draft mining bill before Parliament with a revised version that restores a maximum 20-year mining lease term and clarifies provisions that have raised concerns among miners, three people familiar with the matter said.
Reuters reported last month that the Minerals and Mining Bill, 2026, published by Parliament would limit new mining leases to 15 years, or the projected life of the mine, whichever is shorter, compared with up to 30 years under current law. It would also give the minister power to require mining companies to issue the state a special share.
Two senior government officials and a mining executive told Reuters that a revised bill is expected to replace the lease provision with a maximum 20-year term, in line with a policy position outlined by the mines minister in July.
“There was a mistake with the document that eventually went to Parliament and that will be corrected,” a mines ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment publicly. The sources did not say when the revised bill would be reintroduced.
The expected changes follow concerns raised by industry. The Ghana Chamber of Mines said on Thursday that the minister’s power to require a mining company to issue the state a special share already exists under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006, and is largely being carried over into the draft bill, albeit with tougher penalties for non-compliance.
Ken Ashigbey, chief executive of the chamber, said discussions with the authorities had produced “good compromise positions,” including the proposed 20-year lease term. He said the remaining issues would be taken up with Parliament.
The mines ministry and the Minerals Commission did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Cabinet Endorsed Sweeping Reforms in July
The revisions follow Cabinet’s endorsement in July 2026 of a comprehensive review of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), which has been in force for two decades. The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, announced at the Government Accountability Series in Accra that the revised bill introduces district mining committees as the entry point for licensing, creates a new medium-scale mining category, and abolishes the reconnaissance licence in favour of a single prospecting licence capped at five years.
“Mining leases will now be fixed at a maximum of 20 years, and every lease will carry a mandatory community development agreement,” Buah said at the time. “The revised Bill provides an updated, coherent and forward-looking legal regime to ensure that mining contributes immensely to national development.”
The July announcement aligned with the government’s policy position that mining leases should be capped at 20 years, down from the current 30 years. However, the version of the bill subsequently published by Parliament contained the 15-year limit, prompting industry concern and the current revision.
Special Share Provisions Retained With Tougher Penalties
The revised bill will retain provisions allowing the mines minister to require mining companies to issue the state a free special share with veto rights over key transactions, according to the Business Insider Africa report. Those transactions would include transfers of mining leases, voluntary liquidations and the disposal of significant overseas assets linked to Ghanaian operations.
The bill preserves the state’s existing 10% free-carried interest in mining projects. Companies that fail to issue the special share within two months could face fines of up to the cedi equivalent of US$150,000.
The Chamber of Mines clarified that the minister’s power to require a special share already exists under the 2006 law and is largely being carried over into the draft bill. “The existing law allows the Minister responsible for mines to require a mining company, by written notice, to issue a special share to the Republic without consideration,” the chamber said in a statement, noting that the provision gives the State consent rights over specified major corporate transactions.
However, some mining companies have raised concerns about parts of the bill, saying they were not discussed during earlier meetings with the industry. One mining executive said measures including shorter lease terms and the proposed special state share had not featured in earlier consultations. Mining companies hope the government will engage further on the bill’s more contentious provisions before lawmakers debate it and plan to submit their own proposals during the legislative process.
Mandatory Community Development Agreements
A key feature of the revised bill is the introduction of mandatory Community Development Agreements, which will require mining companies to negotiate development priorities directly with host communities before mining leases are granted.
Under the proposed law, mining companies will be required to sign legally binding Community Development Agreements with host communities to fund socio-economic development projects before operations begin. This marks a significant shift in how companies secure the right to operate, making community support a legal requirement rather than a voluntary corporate social responsibility initiative.
“Every mining lease will now include a Community Development Agreement signed between the mining company and the community,” Buah said.
Local Processing and Export Restrictions
The draft bill would also allow the government to mandate local mineral processing and impose future restrictions on exports of unprocessed mineral concentrates. The bill would permit the government to require local processing and ban exports of unprocessed mineral concentrates through future regulations.
A transitional provision would require holders of mineral rights issued under the old law to migrate to the new licensing regime within a specified period. Major operators in Ghana include Newmont, Gold Fields, Zijin Mining and Perseus Mining.
Royalty Regime and Fiscal Framework
The reforms form part of a broader overhaul of Ghana’s mining fiscal framework. The Minerals and Mining (Royalties) Regulations, 2025 (L.I. 2517) introduced a sliding-scale royalty regime tied to commodity price cycles.
“This self-adjusting mechanism offers greater predictability to investors than a rigid fixed rate vulnerable to low-price cycles,” Buah explained.
The Chamber of Mines has backed the principle of a sliding-scale royalty system that would allow the state to earn more at higher gold prices, though it cautioned that proposed rates of 5% to 12% on gross revenue could worsen the investment climate. The government also reduced the Growth and Sustainability Levy on gold mining companies from 3% of gross production to 1% in 2026, with a commitment to phase it out by 2028.
Ghana’s Rising Stature in Global Gold Mining
The legislative overhaul comes as Ghana solidifies its position as Africa’s leading gold producer. The country climbed to sixth place among the world’s largest gold producers in 2025, overtaking the United States after national output reached a record 5.94 million ounces, a 23.41% increase from 4.82 million ounces in 2024.
Small-scale mining accounted for 52.38% of total production, overtaking large-scale operations for the first time in the country’s more than a century of commercial mining. The Chamber of Mines has forecast further growth in 2026, projecting output of between 6.1 million and 6.7 million ounces.
Gold’s contribution to GDP rose from 7.97% in 2024 to 9.98% in 2025, making it Ghana’s largest economic sub-sector. Mining accounts for about 14% of Ghana’s GDP and more than half of export earnings, making the sector a cornerstone of the economy.
Enforcement and Illegal Mining
The government has also intensified its crackdown on illegal mining, known locally as galamsey. The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) executed 200 operations across 53 districts in six endemic regions between January and June 2026, recording a strike rate of 84.1%.
The operations led to the arrest of 207 suspects, including 46 foreign nationals, and the seizure or destruction of 78 excavators, 2,800 chanfangs and 1,244 makeshift mining structures.
“Our rivers are not for sale. Our forests are not expendable. Our mineral wealth is a sacred national inheritance that we have a duty to protect. Let me be clear, the era of impunity is over,” Buah said.
Land Reclamation and Governance Reforms
Alongside the mining law reforms, the government reported that 1,535 acres of degraded land in the Ashanti Region had been restored in partnership with the private sector, with a further 1,500 acres targeted by the end of the year. Government is separately reclaiming 960 acres on its own across the country.
The government has also launched the Strategic Land Administration Reform Project (SLARP), a nationally owned programme to modernise and decentralise Ghana’s land administration system through eight components, including digitisation of the Lands Commission, systematic titling and a national cadastre, boundary demarcation, and strengthening of customary land secretariats.
What’s Next
The revised bill could be taken up when Parliament resumes in October, according to a mining executive. The sources did not specify when the revised version would be reintroduced, and the mines ministry and Minerals Commission did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
With the 20-year lease term now forming the basis of a compromise between government and industry, attention shifts to Parliament, where the Chamber of Mines has said remaining issues will be addressed. The outcome will shape the operating environment for major international miners — including Newmont, Gold Fields and AngloGold Ashanti — for years to come, as Ghana seeks to balance its ambitions for greater state control and local benefit with the need to retain its competitiveness as Africa’s premier gold investment destination.
