Chamber of Mines Warns of ‘Unfeasible’ Projects and ‘High Grading’ Disaster.
The titans of Ghana’s mining world are locking horns with the government, sounding a dire warning over a controversial proposal to slash mining lease terms in half.
The Ghana Chamber of Mines, the powerful voice of the industry, has gone on the offensive against plans to reduce mining leases from a secure 30 years down to a mere 15. The Chamber claims this radical shift could send shockwaves through the sector, making Ghana a pariah for global and local investors.
At a tense press briefing, Chamber CEO Ing. Dr. Ken Ashigbey didn’t mince words. He declared that a shorter lease period would make big-money mining projects “unfeasible,” effectively stopping major investments in their tracks.
”If the lease is shorter…the project becomes unfeasible. If it’s unfeasible, no one will invest money,” Dr. Ashigbey told a captivated press corps, a grim message for anyone banking on Ghana’s mineral wealth.
He also raised the terrifying prospect of “high grading,” where desperate companies, under pressure from the short tenure, would only rip out the most valuable ore, leaving behind vast, untapped deposits.
”Reducing the lease duration will encourage high grading,” he warned, highlighting the risk to “deeper, complex, and marginal ore bodies” that could be abandoned forever.
The Chamber’s grim forecast paints a picture of a Ghana that loses its competitive edge, with investors fleeing a shorter investment window, a heavier tax burden, and a lack of long-term stability. The knock-on effect? Less money for crucial community projects and social investments.
To avert this crisis, the Chamber is digging in its heels, insisting that the government must stand by the original 30-year lease terms and renewal policies laid out in the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703).
By Philip Antoh