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GHANA ISSUES PRE-CLOSURE NOTICE TO CHINESE-OWNED GOLD MINE OVER ALLEGED UNREPORTED ACCIDENT
Ghana’s Environmental Protection Authority has issued a pre-closure notice to Chinese-owned Cardinal Namdini Mining over an alleged failure to prompt...
By Wavers News
The notice does not mean the mine has been closed. A senior EPA official said the action partly relates to an alleged incident in which a tailings pipeline became disconnected, resulting in a spill from a system used to transport mine waste.
GHANA TIGHTENS MINING OVERSIGHT
Michael Ayamga, the EPA’s Deputy Chief Executive for Operations, said the authority is moving away from periodic inspections towards more continuous monitoring and enforcement.
The EPA is also planning environmental, social and governance audits across the mining sector as part of efforts to strengthen compliance.
“We don’t want to be reactive but proactive,” Ayamga said, adding that the authority wants to move beyond one-off inspections and audits towards enforcement.
CARDINAL NAMDINI NOTICE FOLLOWS ALLEGED INCIDENT
According to Ayamga, the pre-closure notice partly concerns an alleged failure by Cardinal Namdini to promptly report the tailings pipeline incident.
Cardinal Namdini Mining is owned by China’s Shandong Gold. The company had not immediately responded to a request for comment at the time of the report.
The available report does not establish the volume of the spill or quantify any environmental damage resulting from the incident.
OTHER MINING COMPANIES UNDER SCRUTINY
The EPA’s increased enforcement also involves other mining operators in Ghana.
The authority recently shut down Chinese-owned Earl International Group over what Ayamga described as a legacy compliance issue linked to illegal gold-mining activity.
However, an Earl spokesperson said the company had addressed the EPA’s concerns and was cleared to resume operations on September 28 after an environmental permit was signed by the regulator’s chief executive.
The EPA also fined AngloGold Ashanti’s Iduapriem mine last year over environmental breaches, although the regulator did not disclose details of those breaches.
AngloGold Ashanti later said Iduapriem had recorded a reportable environmental incident in 2025 involving the release of process water and related solids through a tear in the liner of the Beposo tailings storage facility. The company said processing was immediately suspended, regulators were notified and permanent repairs were completed after inspections and sampling.
GOLD FIELDS INSPECTION FINDINGS UNDER REVIEW
The EPA is also reviewing the findings of a recent inspection of Gold Fields’ Tarkwa operation.
The regulator has not disclosed any findings from that inspection or indicated that further enforcement action will be taken.
Gold Fields said it had been notified of plans for a broader environmental, social, governance and socio-economic assessment of the Tarkwa operation and had requested additional time to review the scope before determining its position.
The company also said Tarkwa remains subject to regular monitoring, independent assurance and regulatory oversight.
GHANA SEEKS GREATER OVERSIGHT OF GOLD INDUSTRY
Ghana, Africa’s biggest gold producer, has been tightening oversight of its mining sector as the government seeks to increase revenue, strengthen compliance and expand local participation.
The government has raised royalties, expanded local-content requirements and is advancing a new mining law intended to increase state oversight and Ghanaian ownership within the sector.
The latest enforcement actions form part of the EPA’s broader move towards more continuous monitoring of mining operations.