Former Chairman of Parliament’s Mines and Energy Committee, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, is making a strong case for a fundamental reset in the terms of the agreement should Ghana decide to renew the expiring Gold Fields Lease for Tarkwa.
Ghana approaches the renewal of the large-scale mining company’s lease as Gold Fields has applied to renew the lease for the next 20 years since the current lease expires next year.
The mining consultant insists that any extension of Gold Fields’ operations must be grounded in significantly improved fiscal terms for the state.
No Automatic Renewal
Speaking in an interview with The High Street Journal, he stressed that the expiration of mining leases should not be treated as an automatic continuation of existing arrangements, especially in cases where Ghanaian contractors are already deeply embedded in actual mining operations.
For stresses that the South African company does not have the right to automatic renewal upon the expiration of the current lease.
According to him, the current structure in many mining concessions reveals a mismatch between value creation and value capture. In his view, although foreign firms often provide capital and branding, much of the operational mining is already executed by local contractors. Yet the bulk of economic gains continues to flow outward.
“When your lease expires, you don’t have an automatic right. In particular, when you have used a model that shows us that the actual mining is done by Ghanaian contractors. It’s just that you have your brand name on it,” he noted.
The Two Proposed Pathways
Dr. Donkor outlined two clear policy pathways for government. For him, the preferred approach is for the state to reassess ownership and control of strategic mining assets through a strengthened Ghanaian State Gold Mining Corporation model.
Under this structure, the state would hold the asset on behalf of the public while contracting competent local firms to undertake actual mining operations, thereby retaining a larger share of post-production value within the domestic economy.
However, he acknowledged a second, more pragmatic option. He says in the event that the government opts to renew the lease with Gold Fields, then it must do so under new and improved fiscal terms that reflect Ghana’s current economic priorities and ensure a higher return to the state.
Dr. Donkor maintains that extension is not by default, adding that any renewal must be treated as a fresh agreement rather than a continuation of legacy terms.
“There is another option where the lease is renewed but on better fiscal terms. There is that option. But it is the option of the Ghanaian state. Give us an offer that we cannot refuse. We want to retain a higher value of the post-production cost in Ghana. Give us an offer that we cannot refuse,” he noted.
He added, “It has to be a new agreement. It will be a new lease. That is different from extending. We may choose to extend for two or three years whilst we sort terms out. But if we are negotiating a new lease, it has to be on better fiscal terms.”
The Bottomline
Ultimately, the former chairman of the parliament’s committee on mines and energy’s argument centres on strengthening Ghana’s bargaining position in its natural resource sector.
For Dr. Donkor, the expiry of a mining lease is not a procedural formality; it is a strategic leverage point. And in his view, if Ghana chooses to renew, it must do so from a position that decisively improves fiscal returns for the state and its citizens.
