By: International Mining

Leading contract mining company Engineers & Planners Co Ltd (E&P) is planning to invest approximately US$1.2 billion for its ongoing contract operations at Gold Fields’ Tarkwa and Damang gold mines in Ghana.

As part of efforts to strengthen operations and expand capacity, the indigenous mining firm has dispatched 30 Caterpillar 785D mining trucks to its operational base in Tarkwa. E&P says its investment in heavy-duty mining equipment dates back to 2002. The latest investment builds on earlier investment in 2018, when the company committed an estimated US$650 million to the two operations.

Since February 1997, E&P has been conducting contract mining services for international mining, construction and equipment rental companies around the world with particular expertise in mining environments within Africa. E&P has grown internationally to service both small & big-tier companies through its contract mining and construction divisions. It is a wholly indigenous Ghanaian owned company headquartered in Accra, Ghana.

Following its inception it has successfully completed world class projects including road construction, mining projects, tailings dam construction, landfill site construction, leach pads construction and land reclamation amongst others. It has executed mining projects both in Ghana and in Liberia. Over the past 25 years E&P has gained considerable experience in hard rock mining.

E&P is currently engaged in hard rock contract mining for the South African mining giant Gold Fields at its world class mine in Tarkwa and Damang. Between January 2010 and May 2014, E&P also undertook hard rock mining for Golden Star (Wassa) Ltd.

The company is also becoming a mine owner operator in its own right. In September 2025 E&P successfully acquired all issued shares of Azumah Resources Ghana Ltd and Upwest Resources Ltd, following a share transfer agreement with the Ghanaian Beneficial Owner, and formally placing the Black Volta and Sankofa projects under E&P’s full ownership and management. It says after decades of inactivity, these projects now stand at the threshold of full-scale development under Ghanaian leadership.

This was followed in December 2025 by Azumah Resources Ghana Ltd announcing that it had entered into a strategic agreement with FLSmidth as a strategic equipment and technology partner for the Black Volta gold project covering supply of all long lead items valued at circa US$37 million. The equipment is due to be delivered during 2026, ahead of mine start-up in 2027.

FLS will supply amongst other equipment a gyratory crusher, Raptor cone crusher, SAG and ball mill, pre-leach thickener, screens, apron feeders, KREBS cyclones and pumps. The order also includes equipment for absorption, desorption and refining and detoxification. FLS will also provide technical support to the EPC contractor during the detailed engineering phase and site support for erection and installation, start-up, commissioning and site training. In addition, the order includes spare parts as well as a performance guarantee for the process equipment.