Gold Fields is under pressure to secure a long-term mining lease for its last remaining mine in Ghana as the government there tightens its grip on the country’s vast gold reserves.
In April, the group will finally hand over control of Damang, one of two Ghanaian assets in its portfolio, leaving it with only one operation in the country — the open-pit Tarkwa mine.
But Tarkwa’s mining leases are also set to expire in a year, and Ghana’s push to increase taxes and royalties means a renewal or extension may not be available on commercially viable terms.
With Damang gone and Tarkwa’s long-term lease far from secured, Gold Fields’ presence in Africa’s biggest gold mining jurisdiction now hangs in the balance.
In its latest annual results, published earlier this week, the mining giant warned that its exposure to risks associated with tenure and regulation have increased in 2025 and is now elevated.
It said the threat stems primarily from uncertainty over its ability to secure tenure at Tarkwa and renew its leases on commercially viable terms.
The company submitted an application for Tarkwa’s leases to be renewed in November, but due to a shifting policy landscape in Ghana these talks could collapse, potentially forcing it to exit the country.
In recent years, Ghana, the continent’s biggest gold producer, has proposed big amendments to its Minerals and Mining Act, a set of laws governing the mining sector, as part of a broader push to tighten control of its natural resources.
These proposals, which have not yet been implemented, include reducing mining lease terms and abolishing development agreements — both of which could deal a heavy blow to Gold Fields’ operations.
“In several resource-rich jurisdictions, governments are seeking greater participation in the value generated from natural resources through evolving regulatory frameworks and fiscal regimes,” said the company.
“In Ghana, these dynamics have included policy discussions relating to mining sector regulation and the future tenure of certain assets.”
With Tarkwa’s leases, Gold Fields’ development agreement with Ghana’s government, which provides a range of concessions and “key stabilising provisions” for taxes and royalties, is also set to expire in April 2027.
It is no longer clear if this agreement will be extended or if “any other form of stabilisation will be applied to Tarkwa”, said the group.
If Tarkwa’s leases are renewed on less favourable terms, the operation’s costs could increase materially through higher taxes and royalties and a loss of other concessions.
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The Ghanaian government has already ruled that the flat 5% royalty rate imposed on gold miners will be increased to a sliding scale of 5%-12%, based on the prevailing gold price, imposing a higher burden on miners such as Gold Fields.
The group said it would be required to cease mining operations at Tarkwa unless its mining leases are renewed by April.
“Resource nationalism is rising, affecting tax rules and ownership rights in certain territories, and will most likely take precedence over optimised supply chains in a geopolitically volatile world,” it said.
“This trend reflects an increasing resolve by governments to assert greater sovereign control over their natural mineral wealth.”
Aside from its proposed amendments to the Minerals and Mining Act, the Ghanaian government has introduced big shifts in recent years to combat illegal mining by laying out a clearer path for small-scale miners to obtain licences and operate.
In May 2025 it tightened restrictions on the informal sector by establishing the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), which is now the only seller, assayer and exporter of gold produced by Ghana’s informal sector.
Artisanal and small-scale mining is an important contributor to Ghana’s gold exports, which accounted for 57% of the country’s total export revenue in 2024, according to its central bank.
Gold Fields CEO Mike Fraser, who took the helm in 2023, has tried to ease the tension between his company and local authorities by calling on Africa’s mining heavyweights to open the door to collaboration with artisanal miners.
At the 2026 Mining Indaba in February, he called for greater collaboration between gold majors and the informal mining sector, particularly in Ghana.
As attention turns to Tarkwa, the group’s Damang mine, in which it holds a 90% stake, will now transition to government ownership.
Damang’s lease was initially set to expire in April 2025, but a 12-month extension allowed Gold Fields to postpone the handover and ensure a smoother transition to the Ghanaian government.
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