Wassa Fiase chiefs push for Ghanaian ownership of the Tarkwa Gold Mine concession as Gold Fields leases near expiry

Chiefs in the Wassa Fiase Traditional Area have called on President John Dramani Mahama to award the Tarkwa Gold Mine concession to a Ghanaian investor when Gold Fields Ghana Limited’s mining leases expire in April 2027.

The chiefs made the call at a general meeting of the Wassa Fiase Traditional Council on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. They said decades of mining had delivered too few benefits to host communities, pointing to poor roads, inadequate investment in local infrastructure and delays in the payment of royalties.

The Apinto Divisional Council, within whose jurisdiction the mine is located, has petitioned the government against renewing Gold Fields’ leases. It wants the concession awarded to a Ghanaian investor with the capacity to run the mine and a commitment to investing in the communities around it.

The Queen Mother of the Wassa Fiase Traditional Area, Nana Abena Konadwoa II, told the meeting that repeated appeals for help to improve roads and other infrastructure had gone unanswered. She argued that Gold Fields’ spending on community projects fell short given the scale of its mining operations.

She cited the company’s profits in 2025 and the first half of 2026 in questioning how much it had contributed through royalties and community projects. She did not give specific figures at the meeting.

Nana Abena Konadwoa II pointed to road and hospital projects, an astroturf pitch and an airport project in the Damang area following the transfer of the Damang mine to Ghanaian ownership. She cited the projects as examples of what she believes a Ghanaian operator could deliver for communities around the Tarkwa mine.

Nana Adu Panyin of the Apinto Divisional Council also raised concerns about delays in royalty payments. The Traditional Council’s registrar told the meeting that the money had been deposited into an account but could only be released once an ongoing land dispute was resolved.

Nana Kwabena Gyan II, Bogoso Divisional Chief Nana Sompreh and Prestea-Heman Divisional Chief Nana Nteboah Prah also backed the call for a Ghanaian investor to take over the concession.

The Tarkwa Gold Mine is one of Ghana’s major gold-producing operations. Its five mining leases, dated April 18, 1997, cover about 20,825 hectares. The operation includes four large open pits and a processing plant with capacity to handle about 13.5 million tonnes of ore a year.

Mining at Tarkwa dates back to the 1930s. Gold Fields began managing the operation in 1993 under an agreement with the government and completed the first phase of open-pit development in 1998. Underground operations ended the following year as open-pit mining expanded.

In 2011, Gold Fields acquired IAMGold’s 18.9 per cent interest in the operation, increasing its stake to 90 per cent. The Government of Ghana holds the remaining 10 per cent.