Northern Ashanti Mines Seeks Court Order To Halt Takeover Of Konongo Mine
Northern Ashanti Mines Company Limited has gone to the High Court in Accra to stop a planned government takeover of its Konongo mining concession, warning that financial commitments worth about US$110 million could be jeopardised.
The company has filed an injunction application at the court’s Commercial Division, asking it to prevent the Minerals Commission and the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources from taking over the mine or transferring the concession to other parties.
It wants the order to remain in force until the court rules on its challenge to the termination of its mining lease. The Attorney-General has also been named as a respondent in the case.
In an affidavit supporting the application, the company’s Administrative Manager, Jonathan Adongo, alleged that officials of the Minerals Commission, accompanied by military personnel, visited the mining site on October 22, 2026.
According to Mr Adongo, the officials instructed the company, its employees and workers to leave the mine, offices and residential facilities by midday on the same day.
He warned that the threatened takeover before the court determines the legality of the lease termination could put the company’s investments, equipment and ongoing operations at risk.
“The threatened military takeover is imminent, and I humbly pray this Honourable Court to hear this application with urgency,” Mr Adongo states.
The affidavit describes Northern Ashanti Mines as a wholly Ghanaian-owned company formerly known as Owere Mines Limited. It is currently involved in the redevelopment of the historic Konongo Gold Mine in the Ashanti Region.
The company maintains that its mining lease was renewed on February 2, 2023, for a period of 13 years, covering approximately 125 square kilometres. It further says Parliament ratified the renewed lease, which is due to expire on February 1, 2036.
Northern Ashanti Mines says it has invested more than US$83.34 million in the concession and recently obtained a financing facility exceeding US$30 million to support the construction of a gold processing plant, which it says is more than 50 per cent complete.
The company estimates its total committed expenditure at about US$110 million and says its operations support approximately 422 jobs, both directly and indirectly.
The dispute stems from a lease termination notice dated April 30, 2026, issued by the Minerals Commission on behalf of the sector minister.
The notice, attached to the court application, stated: “Your company failed to remedy and/or refused to remedy the breaches which were served within the statutory and regulatory timeframe.”
However, Northern Ashanti Mines disputes the grounds for the termination, arguing that it was not served with any notice of breach and was not given an opportunity to address the alleged violations or explain why its mineral rights should not be revoked.
The company also says its lawyers wrote to the authorities on May 4, 2026, followed by a petition on May 20 seeking a review and reversal of the decision, but received no response.
Through the injunction application, the company is also seeking to prevent the deployment of security personnel to enforce the termination and to stop the granting or transfer of mineral rights over the disputed concession.
It argues that a forced takeover could pose risks to employees and nearby communities, damage mining equipment and lead to the loss of exploration records and geological data.
Northern Ashanti Mines is therefore asking the court to maintain the existing position and allow it to retain possession of the concession until its judicial review application is finally determined.
