The Ghana Chamber of Mines has raised red flags over proposed amendments to the country’s mining laws that would reduce lease durations, warning the changes could discourage investment and threaten the long-term viability of the sector.
The Chamber’s Chief Executive Officer, Ing. Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey, on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, cautioned that shortening mining lease tenures could undermine investor confidence and disrupt project feasibility assessments.
Dr. Ashigbey told journalists at a media briefing in Accra that, “It is important that when we are looking at the tenure of the lease, we don’t curtail the available time for recouping this investment and earning a fair return,”
He also explained that reducing lease periods could make mining projects financially unviable, citing negative impacts on Net Present Value (NPV) calculations a key tool used to assess investment returns.
“If the tenure is short, when you do your NPVs, you’ll find out that the project is not feasible. And if it is not feasible, nobody will bring their money to invest,” he warned.
The Chief Executive Officer further cautioned that a shortened lease period may lead to “high grading” a practice where miners prioritize high-value ore extraction over long-term resource management.
Meanwhile, the government is currently reviewing the Minerals and Mining Act as part of broader efforts to increase Ghana’s revenue share from its natural resources. While the review is aimed at ensuring equitable benefit-sharing, industry stakeholders are urging caution to avoid unintended consequences that could hurt sector performance.
