Northern Ashanti Mines Threatens International Court Action Over Lease Termination

Northern Ashanti Mines Limited has threatened to take its dispute over the termination of its mining lease to international courts if the Minerals Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources fail to resolve the matter through dialogue.

The company’s director, Fred Okine, said the board had agreed to consider international legal action to protect its investment if discussions with the relevant authorities prove unsuccessful.

Speaking to Sammie Wiafe on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News on Thursday, October 22, Okine said the company remained open to an amicable settlement but would not rule out a more extensive legal battle.

“If the Commission and the Minister are amenable to dialogue, we will not proceed with any strenuous court action. But if they are not willing to yield, I think the Board has taken a decision to pursue this matter even to the international courts,” he said.

Okine stressed that the company could not allow its investment to be lost without challenging the decision, citing an investment of $120 million over three years.

He also questioned why the company had not been given what he described as the usual opportunity to discuss regulatory concerns and remedy any outstanding issues before its lease was terminated.

Northern Ashanti Mines, which operates in the Konongo area of the Ashanti Region, maintains that it has taken steps to meet its regulatory obligations. Okine said the company had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on renewing its mining lease and obtaining environmental and mining permits.

He added that the company had arranged instalment payments where it could not immediately meet certain payment obligations, saying such arrangements had previously been accommodated by the regulator.

The company is also challenging the termination through the courts. It has filed an application for judicial review at the High Court in Accra, seeking to have the decision declared unlawful and quashed.

The application names the Minerals Commission, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and the Attorney-General as respondents.

Court documents identify an April 30, 2026, letter signed by the Minerals Commission’s chief executive officer as the communication conveying the termination decision.

In an affidavit supporting the application, the company’s Administrative Manager, Jonathan Adongo, alleges that the company was not notified of the breaches cited in the letter or given an opportunity to remedy them before the decision was made.

The company argues that the termination breached procedures under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), and the Minerals and Mining (Licensing) Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2176), including requirements it says apply under Section 68 of the Act.

Meanwhile, reports on October 22 indicated that military and police personnel had taken control of the company’s premises and instructed workers to leave. Okine alleged that the operation appeared to benefit another company, but the identity of that company and the precise connection between the operation and the lease termination have not been independently established.

Northern Ashanti Mines says it is petitioning the relevant authorities again, while the judicial review application remains before the High Court. The court has yet to determine the company’s challenge to the termination.

Source: https://x.com/citi973/status/2113510720729964628?s=46

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