You cannot renew your lease and sell it — Ato Forson warns mining companies

Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has signaled a tougher government stance on mining lease renewals, warning that Ghana will no longer allow companies to treat lease extensions as opportunities to quickly sell valuable assets for profit.

Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, the Finance Minister said future lease renewals would face greater scrutiny, particularly where companies seek to dispose of mining assets shortly after receiving approval to continue operations.

Dr. Forson cited a recent transaction involving Newmont, where a renewed mining lease was reportedly sold for about $1 billion soon after its extension.

“We renewed it; the following month they sold it for a billion dollars and only paid capital gains after the state,” he said.

While acknowledging that the government received the appropriate taxes and revenues from the transaction, he questioned whether such deals align with the original purpose of lease renewals.

“You can't just renew your lease and sell it the following month. The intention out there was for us to renew the lease for them to continue in business,” he stated.

The Minister's comments come as government considers the future of the Tarkwa Mine, one of Ghana’s most strategic and valuable gold-producing assets, whose current lease arrangement is approaching expiration.

Originally owned by the state before being leased to a foreign operator for 30 years, the mine is now at the centre of discussions over whether its lease should be renewed or the asset returned to state control.

According to Dr. Forson, government is carefully evaluating the available options and intends to reach a decision before the end of the year.

“There is a conversation around whether we revert it back to the State Mining Company or allow the company to extend the lease,” he said.

He indicated that authorities are working toward concluding negotiations and policy discussions well ahead of the lease deadline.

“As I said, we have up to April next year, almost one year. And our intention is to have that conversation to the end of the year. And so before 2026, we'll have some agreement,” he added.

The Finance Minister also defended government's recently introduced sliding-scale royalty regime for the mining sector, describing it as a mechanism designed to ensure the country benefits more during periods of high commodity prices.

“We introduced the sliding scale to be able to capture the economic rent,” he explained.

According to Dr. Forson, the royalty reforms were developed in consultation with mining industry stakeholders and are intended to strengthen Ghana’s ability to secure a fair share of revenues generated from its natural resources.

The government's review of mining lease policies forms part of broader efforts to maximize national benefits from the extractive sector while ensuring long-term sustainability and value creation for the Ghanaian economy.