By: Miningmx

Ghana is drawing up its most extensive rewrite of mining rules in twenty years – a move that would sharply cut how long companies can run mines in Africa’s top gold producer before having to renew their rights, said Bloomberg News.

Cabinet has approved the draft legislation, which is due before parliament shortly, according to people familiar with the matter. It would cap lease renewals at 10 years, down from the current 30-year allowance, and trim the maximum term for new leases to 20 years from 30. Ghana’s mining code has stood since 2006.

The proposal could complicate Gold Fields’s bid, lodged in November, for a 20-year renewal at its Tarkwa operation, where leases run out in April 2027. Tarkwa yielded 475,000 ounces last year, close to a fifth of the miner’s total output.

Officials plan to pass the law before deciding on pending renewal requests, so Gold Fields’ application could fall under the new framework, the sources told the newswire.

Stability agreements guaranteeing fixed tax terms would also be scrapped in favour of a capital-recovery system, though existing pacts with Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields would hold until 2027.

Benjamin Boakye of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy said the case for such sweeping change lacks solid evidence and warned scrapping stability deals could dent Ghana’s appeal to investors.

“Removing stability agreements altogether could make Ghana less competitive,” Boakye said. “Sustaining production over the long term will require renewed exploration and fresh capital, both of which depend heavily on policy stability and regulatory certainty.”