The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has set a firm deadline of 5:00 p.m. on September 1, 2025, for small-scale mining license holders to prove the legitimacy of their permits or risk permanent revocation.
The ultimatum, issued by Lands and Natural Resources Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah (MP), follows a comprehensive audit of the country’s small-scale mining licenses. A special License Review Committee examined 1,278 licenses, of which only 316 were found to be fully compliant. The remaining 962 licenses were flagged for irregularities, with 55 already revoked earlier this year.
After pleas from the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners (GNASSM), government granted an extension from the initial deadline, pushing the compliance date to the end of August. With the grace period set to expire, the Ministry has now reiterated its stance.
“Affected license holders are therefore reminded to submit any documentation to prove the legitimacy of their small-scale mining licenses to the Ministry on or before 17:00 hrs., 1 September 2025. Failure to do so will result in the revocation of their license by the Honourable Minister,” the Committee’s statement emphasized.
Minister Buah stressed that the exercise is part of sweeping reforms to sanitize Ghana’s mining space and tackle illegal mining, which has long undermined environmental protection and revenue generation.
The Ministry also disclosed that a rigorous review of large-scale mining licenses is in the pipeline, signaling a broader push to enforce compliance and restore integrity to the mining sector.
