Keypoints:
- IEA opposes proposed Tarkwa lease extension
- Sophia Akuffo backs Ghanaian control of mines
- Resource sovereignty debate grows across Africa
THE Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has renewed calls for Ghana to assert greater control over its mineral wealth as the mining lease for Gold Fields’ Tarkwa operation nears its 2027 expiration date.
Speaking during an IEA press conference in Accra on Ghana’s mining future and resource ownership on Wednesday, former Chief Justice and IEA fellow, Sophia Akuffo, argued that Ghana must take a more active role in the ownership and governance of strategic national assets.
Her remarks have intensified an already growing national debate over economic sovereignty, foreign-controlled mining concessions and whether Ghana should retain greater ownership of its extractive wealth.
The discussion follows confirmation by Gold Fields chief executive Mike Fraser that the company has formally applied for a 20-year extension of its Tarkwa mining lease, one of Ghana’s most strategically important gold concessions.
The issue is increasingly being viewed less as a corporate licensing dispute and more as part of a wider African reassessment of who controls the continent’s mineral wealth and who ultimately benefits from it.
The debate also comes amid broader policy shifts across Ghana’s mining sector following the government’s decision to reassign the Damang concession after rejecting a separate extension request from Gold Fields. Africa Briefing previously reported that the Damang decision reflected a broader restructuring of mining policy across Africa.
IEA urges rejection of extension
According to the IEA, extending Gold Fields’ lease under the current framework would undermine Ghana’s long-term economic and strategic interests.
The institute called on the government to reject the proposed extension and instead pursue a model that secures meaningful Ghanaian ownership and control of the Tarkwa mine.
Gold Fields acquired the Tarkwa operation in 1993. Today, the mine is regarded as one of Africa’s largest open-pit gold mines and remains a flagship asset within the company’s global portfolio.
The mine reportedly produces roughly 500,000 ounces of gold annually, generating an estimated market value exceeding $2.3bn at prevailing global prices.
The IEA noted that Gold Fields’ Ghanaian operations account for nearly 25 percent of the company’s worldwide production, underscoring the strategic importance of the Gold Fields Tarkwa lease to the multinational miner.
The think tank argued that despite decades of extraction, many mining communities continue to face underdevelopment, deteriorating infrastructure, unemployment and environmental degradation.
Across Africa, governments are increasingly revisiting mining agreements amid rising demands for greater local participation and stronger state control over strategic resources. Africa Briefing recently examined how several African countries are tightening oversight of mining licences as resource nationalism gathers momentum.
Gold Fields has not publicly responded to the IEA’s latest remarks, but mining companies have historically argued that long-term lease extensions are necessary to support investment certainty, operational continuity and future capital expenditure.
Sophia Akuffo backs national ownership
Akuffo said Ghana’s mineral wealth should primarily benefit the Ghanaian people rather than foreign shareholders.
She referenced recent remarks by Vice President Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, who argued that mineral extraction must leave behind lasting social and infrastructural benefits for local communities.
‘These resources are national blessings to be managed for the benefit of all,’ Akuffo quoted the vice president as saying.
The IEA also linked its position to the pan-African ideals championed by Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere and Ahmed Sékou Touré, arguing that African states must exercise sovereignty over their natural resources.
The renewed debate aligns closely with arguments advanced by President John Mahama on economic sovereignty and African ownership of strategic assets. Africa Briefing previously reported on Mahama’s calls for African countries to secure greater value from natural resource extraction.
‘Ghanaians can manage the mines’
The IEA maintained that Ghana now possesses the technical expertise and operational capacity required to manage large-scale mining operations independently.
The institute pointed to the growing role of Ghanaian contractors and mining service providers already executing major operational activities at Tarkwa.
It also highlighted the contribution of the University of Mines and Technology in producing internationally recognised mining engineers, geologists and technical professionals over several decades.
Akuffo argued that Ghanaian firms have demonstrated sufficient competence to manage strategic mining assets if supported through national policy.
At the same time, she stressed that calls for local ownership should not be interpreted as hostility toward foreign investment.
‘I am not saying that we should be hostile to foreign entities,’ she said. ‘We will not be xenophobic here.’
However, she argued that Ghana should prioritise local companies where domestic expertise and operational capability already exist.
Wider sovereignty debate deepens
The IEA further linked Ghana’s recurring economic difficulties to weak domestic revenue mobilisation and long-standing dependence on foreign borrowing.
It argued that stronger national control over strategic mineral assets could improve state revenues, deepen local capital formation and support broader industrial development.
The institute also referenced international legal instruments including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which affirms the sovereign rights of nations to utilise natural resources in the exclusive interest of their citizens.
With Gold Fields’ current Tarkwa lease set to expire in April 2027, the debate is expected to become an increasingly important political and economic issue in Ghana.
For the IEA, the matter extends beyond a single mining concession.
For Ghana, the Tarkwa debate is increasingly becoming a defining test of whether African states can convert mineral wealth into long-term national development rather than continued external dependency.
