Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, says the government has secured a deal that will see a major mine returned to full Ghanaian ownership by March next year.

Speaking during the Government Accountability Series at Jubilee House on Wednesday, July 23, Mr Buah said the Mahama-led government is determined to empower Ghanaians to benefit directly from the country’s natural resources.

“Some of those agreements are really sanctified, and we are going to respect that. But going forward, exactly what are the things that we can do to really empower the people of Ghana and make sure that the resources of Ghana... are basically putting Ghanaians at the commanding height of our industry,” he said.

He revealed that within six months, the government had negotiated terms enabling the takeover of a 30-year-old mine by Ghanaians.

“By March next year, we are going to get a mine that was 30 years old back in the hands of the people of Ghana,” Mr Buah said.

To achieve genuine national control, the Lands Minister detailed reforms at the Minerals Commission that would end perpetual prospecting licences and abolish outdated development deals.

He said instead, they will be replaced by Community Development Agreements (CDAs), mandating mining companies to allocate a percentage of mineral sales to benefit host communities.

The reforms include limiting the duration of prospecting licences from “perpetuity” to a defined minimal period, reducing maximum mining lease terms from 30 years to an adjustable limit, abolishing Development Agreements in favor of CDAs with revenue-sharing provisions for community projects, introducing a medium-scale mining licence in a three-tier mineral rights regime and shortening or eliminating stability agreements from the current 15‑year cap, ensuring they apply only to large-scale investments.

“These significant changes are about making sure the people of Ghana are the real beneficiaries of these resources,” Mr Buah said. “This was the vision of our founders... and this is what the president is fighting for.”