Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: GHANA will scrap long-term mining investment stability agreements and double royalties under sweeping reforms, the regulator in Africa’s top gold producer told Reuters on January 15, as it seeks to capture more benefits from surging bullion prices.
The changes are part of a broad overhaul aimed at balancing investor confidence with the Government’s push to reap greater rewards from mining, Isaac Tandoh, acting CEO of the Minerals Commission, said. African governments are tightening mining rules to cash in on high prices, often raising royalties and local‑content demands – shifts that have periodically triggered clashes with global miners over costs and contract certainty.
In Ghana, the world’s sixth-biggest gold producing country, stability and development agreements typically lock in tax and royalty terms for five to 15 years in exchange for investments of about $300 million to $500 million for mine builds and expansions. Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields currently operate under stability agreements.
Tandoh said the changes, to be written into law, mean Newmont’s stability agreement – which expired in December – will not be renewed. Similar arrangements held by AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields will be phased out when they lapse in 2027.
A draft bill expected to go to Parliament by March proposes royalties starting at 9% and rising to 12% if gold hits $4,500 per ounce or higher, roughly double the current 3%–5% range. Spot gold is currently trading around $4,590 per ounce. “Renewal (of investment stability agreements) is not going to happen,” Tandoh said. “Renewal is conditional, not automatic.”