Northern Ashanti Mines Company Limited has filed an injunction application at the High Court in Accra to prevent the government from taking over its Konongo mining concession, warning that investments and commitments worth about US$110 million are at risk.
The application, filed at the Commercial Division of the High Court, seeks to restrain the Minerals Commission and the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources from taking possession of the mine or reallocating the concession to third parties pending the determination of a judicial review application challenging the termination of the company’s mining lease.
The Attorney-General has also been named as a respondent in the case.
In a supporting affidavit, the company’s Administrative Manager, Jonathan Adongo, alleges that officials of the Minerals Commission, accompanied by military personnel, visited the mine on October 22, 2026, and ordered the company, its staff and workers to vacate the mine, offices and residential accommodation by midday that day.
Mr Adongo argues that any takeover before the court determines the legality of the lease termination could jeopardise the company’s investments, equipment and ongoing operations.
“The threatened military takeover is imminent, and I humbly pray this Honourable Court to hear this application with urgency,” he states in the affidavit.
Northern Ashanti Mines, formerly known as Owere Mines Limited, describes itself as a wholly Ghanaian-owned company redeveloping the historic Konongo Gold Mine in the Ashanti Region.
According to the company, its mining lease was renewed on February 2, 2023, for a period of 13 years, covering approximately 125 square kilometres. It maintains that Parliament ratified the renewed lease, which is due to expire on February 1, 2036.
The company says it has committed capital and incurred expenditure exceeding US$83.34 million on the concession. It has also secured a financing facility of more than US$30 million to support the development of a gold processing plant, which it says is more than 50 per cent complete.
Together, these investments and financing commitments amount to approximately US$110 million, the company argues. It also estimates that its operations support about 422 direct and indirect jobs.
The legal dispute stems from a termination notice dated April 30, 2026, issued by the Minerals Commission on behalf of the minister responsible for lands and natural resources.
The notice states that the company had “failed to remedy and/or refused to remedy the breaches which were served within the statutory and regulatory timeframe.”
Northern Ashanti Mines, however, disputes the allegations, insisting that it was not served with any notice of breach and was not given an opportunity to remedy the alleged violations or explain why its mineral rights should not be cancelled.
The company further says its lawyers wrote to the authorities on May 4, 2026, seeking a review of the decision, followed by a petition on May 20 requesting its reversal. It alleges that neither communication received a response.
As part of its injunction application, the company is asking the court to prevent security deployments aimed at enforcing the termination and to restrain the granting, transfer or reallocation of mineral rights over the concession.
It argues that a forcible takeover could put employees and surrounding communities at risk, damage mining equipment and result in the loss of exploration records and geological data accumulated during its operations.
Northern Ashanti Mines is therefore seeking an order preserving its possession and control of the concession until the court has finally determined its challenge to the termination of the mining lease.
The injunction application seeks to maintain the existing position while the substantive legal dispute is resolved. The allegations and competing positions are yet to be determined by the court.
