A Ghanaian private citizen has petitioned the Council of State to oppose calls for the government to deny the renewal of Gold Fields Ghana Limited’s Tarkwa mining lease, warning that such a move could undermine investor confidence, disrupt local businesses and threaten jobs.
The petition, submitted by public financial management expert Derrick Opare Asamoah and officially received by the Council of State, seeks the body’s advisory intervention amid growing debate over the future of the mining lease.
The controversy intensified after the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) urged the government to consider refusing the renewal of Gold Fields’ lease and transferring the concession to Ghanaian ownership. The IEA has argued that despite Ghana’s status as one of Africa’s leading gold producers, the country has not received sufficient benefits from decades of mineral extraction, while many mining communities remain underdeveloped.
In his petition dated July 1, 2026, Mr Opare Asamoah acknowledged those concerns but argued that denying the lease renewal would worsen rather than solve the challenges facing the sector.
“These concerns are not without merit. Ghana has not yet fully translated its mineral wealth into broad-based prosperity. Host communities deserve more than they have received. The desire for greater national benefit from our resources is legitimate and shared by many Ghanaians,” he stated.
“However, the solution proposed—outright lease denial—would not address these concerns. It would deepen them,” he added.
Mr Opare Asamoah argued that the Tarkwa Mine has become one of Africa’s leading gold operations through decades of sustained investment. According to the petition, before Gold Fields acquired the mine in 1993, it was a struggling underground operation under the State Gold Mining Corporation (SGMC), producing about 24,000 ounces of gold annually with a limited remaining mine life.
He said Gold Fields has since invested more than $5 billion to transform the mine into a large-scale open-pit operation producing approximately 500,000 ounces of gold each year.
“One question this honourable Council must consider is straightforward: does Ghana currently possess the capacity to take over and operate this mine successfully? With respect, the evidence says no,” the petition stated.
While supporting increased Ghanaian participation in the mining sector, the petitioner cautioned against what he described as a forced takeover through lease denial, arguing that such an approach could be viewed negatively by international investors and financiers.
“The international capital markets, which fund such projects, would view a takeover achieved through lease denial as a form of expropriation and would not extend financing. To attempt such a transition without the requisite financial, technical and institutional capacity is to invite operational collapse,” he warned.
The petition further argued that countries with successful mining industries have built domestic expertise through partnerships rather than abrupt nationalisation of mining assets.
“Mature mining jurisdictions have used partnerships to develop and improve local capacity to the point where the locals have themselves become global players,” Mr Opare Asamoah stated.
He also warned that denying the lease could weaken investor confidence by creating uncertainty over security of tenure, which he described as essential for long-term mining investment.
According to the petition, Ghana’s Minerals and Mining Act was designed to provide investors with certainty where they fulfil their contractual obligations.
“If there was no assurance of renewal, then mining companies will not invest in near-mine exploration to extend the mining life of mining assets and invest in long-term capital projects necessary to mine sustainably,” he argued.
Beyond investment concerns, the petitioner said non-renewal of the lease could significantly affect Ghanaian businesses that provide goods and services to Gold Fields.
He cited companies including Engineers and Planners, ZEN Petroleum Holdings, Western Transport Services Ltd and Genser Energy as firms that have developed strong commercial relationships within Gold Fields’ supply chain.
“If the lease were denied, this ecosystem would not seamlessly transfer to a new operator. Supply chains would be disrupted. Contracts would be terminated. Jobs would be lost. The very Ghanaian businesses the IEA claims to champion would be the first to suffer,” he stated.
The petition also highlighted Gold Fields’ local procurement and community development initiatives, claiming the company has spent billions of dollars within Ghana and funded major infrastructure projects through the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation.
According to Mr Opare Asamoah, projects supported by the company include the Tarkwa-Damang Road, the T&A Stadium and health infrastructure in host communities.
The petition comes amid renewed national discussions on how Ghana can derive greater value from its mineral resources. Successive governments have faced calls to increase local ownership, strengthen community benefits and ensure mining revenues translate into sustainable development.
Despite supporting greater Ghanaian participation in the sector, Mr Opare Asamoah argued that this objective should be pursued through negotiation and institutional reforms rather than denying the lease renewal.
“We do not oppose greater Ghanaian ownership of our resources. We advocate for it. But the path to ownership lies through negotiation, capacity building, and strategic legislation, not through administrative actions that would collapse the ecosystem we seek to strengthen,” he said.
The petitioner is therefore urging the Council of State to advise the President against adopting the IEA’s proposal and instead pursue a renegotiated arrangement with Gold Fields.
Among his recommendations are the acquisition of additional equity stakes for the state and Ghanaian citizens through the Minerals Income Investment Fund, the development of a National Resource Participation Strategy with clear targets for local ownership and skills transfer, and the establishment of a mandatory Mining Community Development Fund financed through mining revenues to ensure mining communities receive direct and sustained benefits.
Concluding the petition, Mr Opare Asamoah urged the Council of State to support what he described as a balanced approach to resource governance.
“We respectfully submit that the non-renewal of the Gold Fields lease, as proposed by the IEA, would undermine those interests profoundly. We pray the Council intervenes to guide the government toward the path of strategic renegotiation, capacity building, and lawful, predictable resource governance,” the petition stated.
