As matters of Ghana’s Nyinahin Bauxite continue to gain public attention, Country Manager of the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) Denis Gyeyir is worried that the perceived constant politicization of the block is a bad omen for investor attraction into the country’s mining sector.
Denis Gyeyir is issuing a blunt warning to policymakers that the constant politicizing of Ghana’s bauxite sector is gradually putting Ghana in a bad light within the investor community, not only foreign but even local.
“We must be mindful of how we portray ourselves to the investor community… Even a local investor will be seeing risk,” the country manager told The High Street Journal in exclusive interview.
The Reuters Story
These comments follow recent reports by Reuters suggesting that the new government has cancelled the Nyinahin Bauxite deal signed in May 2024 with Rocksure, barely months after the previous administration struck the agreement and submitted it to Parliament for ratification.
Reuters says sources close to the deal confirmed the news; however, officials within the government and Rocksure failed to comment when contacted. The report further adds that the government is rather seeking external partners from Dubai and China.
“Ghana has cancelled a $1.2 billion bauxite lease with local firm Rocksure International, seeking a partnership instead with a big overseas company to tap one of West Africa’s richest deposits, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said,” portions of the Reuters report announced.
The Government’s Response
Although Reuters claims officials at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources failed to comment before publication, the government, after publication, has described the publication as misleading and baseless.
The government claims no valid lease ever existed for Rocksure International.
In a press statement issued on Wednesday, July 30, the Ministry clarified that although Rocksure International was linked to a proposed lease, the agreement was never ratified by the 8th Parliament of Ghana before its dissolution in January 2025.
The Case of Political Machinations
Despite the contradicting claims, the NRGI boss believes the Nyinahin Bauxite block is fast becoming a symbol of political interference in Ghana’s natural resource sector.
He traced its troubled past to the last days of the Mahama administration when Ibrahim Mahama’s company, Exton Cubic, was awarded the concession on December 29, 2016, just days before a change in government. That deal, lacking parliamentary ratification, was subsequently cancelled in 2017.
Fast forward to May 2024, the Rocksure agreement, a joint venture under Ashanti Bauxite, was signed and submitted to Parliament. Unfortunately, the deal was not ratified before the dissolution of Parliament on January 6, 2025. This, Denis Gyeyir believes, is history repeating itself.
“This block has been the subject of a lot of political manoeuvres… if what Reuters is reporting is really true, then it’s a worrying development for that particular case. Because it’s looking like anybody or any company that gets to have that blog will be playing into some politics, which is very unnecessary. I don’t think we should, first of all, be doing politics with our strategic assets like bauxite,” he told The High Street Journal.
Investor Confidence on the Line
Gyeyir is concerned that the recurring political maneuvers around the Nyinahin block are sending all the wrong signals to the investor community. For him, the real worry is not simply about Rocksure or Exton Cubic, it’s about Ghana’s reputation as a predictable investment destination.
He explains that Ghana is not the only country with bauxite in Africa. Guinea is the world’s largest producer, and it’s right next door. Sierra Leone has almost the same quantity. With the recurring happenings, he notes that if a company has a choice between a stable deal in Guinea and a politically risky one, Ghana will definitely be on the losing side.
For him, every unratified contract, cancelled concession, and partisan tug-of-war over strategic assets is risking Ghana as an unstable and unreliable mining jurisdiction.
That could derail its ambitions to build a strong downstream bauxite industry, including the establishment of local refineries and value-added processing plants.
“The investor attraction thing is important, and it will all go into the decision as to who would want to invest in our downstream, whether we want to add value, build refineries and all of that. Investors will think about all of these politics around these blocks and concessions,” he added.
The Need for Predictability
The country manager of the NRGI is calling for policy consistency and respect for due process.
He stresses that strategic assets like bauxite, he said, should be shielded from the turbulence of partisan politics. Contracts must be transparent, grounded in law, and respected across political transitions. He says investors don’t just follow resources, they follow certainty and predictability.
