Northern Ashanti Mines Limited has turned to the High Court in Accra to challenge the termination of its mining lease at Konongo in the Ashanti Region, seeking to prevent the authorities from taking further steps to transfer the concession to another party.
The legal action comes amid reports that military and police personnel took control of the company’s premises on Thursday, October 22, and instructed workers to leave the facility.
The company is asking the court to quash the termination decision, which it says was unlawful, and restrain the Minerals Commission and the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources from acting on the disputed decision to reallocate the mining lease.
In its application for judicial review, Northern Ashanti Mines has named the Minerals Commission, the sector minister and the Attorney-General as respondents.
The company is challenging a letter dated April 30, 2026, signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, which communicated the termination of its lease.
According to court documents, the company contends that the decision was taken without lawful authority and in violation of procedures prescribed under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), and the Minerals and Mining (Licensing) Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2176).
Company alleges denial of due process
In an affidavit supporting the application, the company’s Administrative Manager, Jonathan Adongo, argues that Northern Ashanti Mines was neither notified of the alleged breaches cited as grounds for the termination nor given an opportunity to correct them before the decision was taken.
The company maintains that Section 68 of Act 703 sets out the procedures governing the suspension or cancellation of mineral rights and that the relevant authorities failed to comply with the applicable statutory requirements.
It further argues that the law requires a mineral-right holder to be given an opportunity to remedy a breach, including a period of at least 120 days where the relevant statutory provision applies.
On that basis, the company is asking the court to declare the termination procedurally unfair, unreasonable and unlawful.
These claims are contained in the company’s court filings and have not yet been determined by the court.
Seeks restoration of mining lease
Beyond challenging the termination, Northern Ashanti Mines wants the High Court to declare that its mining lease remains valid for the unexpired term.
It is also seeking an order directing the authorities to restore its rights under the lease and update the relevant official records.
The company wants the court to restrain the Minerals Commission and the sector minister from taking further steps based on the disputed termination, including granting or reallocating the concession to another party, except in accordance with the law.
The application also seeks costs and any other relief the court considers appropriate.
The documents available do not establish that the court has granted the requested orders or ruled on the substance of the dispute.
Dispute over 125-square-kilometre concession
The company’s affidavit states that the government granted it a mining lease on February 20, 2023, covering approximately 125 square kilometres at Konongo.
Northern Ashanti Mines, formerly known as Owere Mines, describes itself as a wholly Ghanaian-owned company established to redevelop the historic Konongo Gold Mine, which it says had remained inactive for at least 15 years.
The company claims to have invested in equipment, infrastructure and processing facilities in preparation for mining operations, while employing approximately 220 people.
Those investment and employment figures are claims made in the supporting affidavit and have not been independently verified.
Previous attempts to reverse termination
The court documents indicate that the company, through its lawyers, wrote to the relevant authorities on May 4, 2026, requesting a review of the termination.
It subsequently petitioned the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, on May 20, seeking an administrative review and reversal of the decision.
According to the affidavit, the company received no response to either petition.
It argues that the alleged failure to follow the prescribed procedures and provide an opportunity to address the alleged breaches undermines the legality of the termination.
The circumstances surrounding the breaches cited in the April 30 letter, however, have not been independently established, and the government’s response to the company’s allegations was not included in the documents reviewed.
Security operation raises further questions
The reported deployment of military and police personnel to the Konongo facility has added another dimension to the dispute, raising questions about the legal authority for the operation and its relationship to the contested lease termination.
Although Northern Ashanti Mines is challenging steps allegedly taken to take over the concession, the court documents do not establish whether the security personnel acted on the instructions of the Minerals Commission or the sector minister.
They also do not establish whether a separate court order or other lawful directive authorised the reported operation.
The Minerals Commission, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service are yet to provide a response in the information available.
The case is expected to centre on whether the termination complied with the applicable mining laws and whether the authorities followed the required procedures before acting against the company’s lease.
Until the court determines the application, the company’s allegations remain unproven, and the legal status of the disputed termination remains subject to the proceedings.
