Africa’s top gold producer issues pre-closure warning to Chinese-owned mine over alleged unreported spill

Michael Ayamga, deputy chief executive for operations at the Environmental Protection Authority, told Reuters that the notice partly concerned a tailings pipeline disconnecting and causing a spill.

A pre-closure notice is not confirmation that the mine has shut. The report does not establish the spill’s volume or environmental damage.

Ayamga described a wider shift towards continuous enforcement. “We don’t want to be reactive but proactive,” he said. “We want to move beyond one-off visits and audits to enforcement.”

A new mine with substantial production ambitions

Namdini is an open-pit mine about 50 kilometres southeast of Bolgatanga, according to OR Royalties’ January disclosure. The royalty investor says Shandong operates the asset through Cardinal in partnership with a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Group.

The disclosure describes production ramping towards approximately 360,000 ounces annually over the first three years at design capacity, with an expected average of 287,000 ounces across an initial 15-year mine life. These are project expectations, not verified current annual output.

For a mine building towards its intended production rate, regulatory uncertainty matters beyond the immediate cost of corrective work.

Any interruption could affect the timing of output and cash receipts for owners and royalty holders. No shutdown or quantified financial impact has been established in this case.

Ghana is tightening the terms of mining investment

The environmental action comes alongside changes to the way foreign miners participate in Ghana’s economy.

Reuters earlier described rules requiring surface mining work to move to Ghanaian-owned contractors and underground operations to ventures with at least 50% local ownership. Officials are also developing wage and tender benchmarks to address concerns about underbidding and worker conditions.

These measures concern different issues, but together illustrate the growing importance of regulatory compliance and local economic participation to mining investments.

The broader enforcement described by the publication includes scrutiny of other foreign operators. That does not establish identical breaches by those companies, and the Cardinal allegation should be assessed on its own evidence.

Source: Africabusinessinsider