Ghana’s Minerals Commission has issued a directive pushing mining companies to transition from owner-mining to contract mining by December 2026, a move that could have far-reaching consequences for artisanal miners and community livelihoods. The directive, enforced under the Minerals and Mining (Local Content and Local Participation) Regulations, 2020, aims to increase local participation in the mining industry, but workers and communities fear it may lead to job losses, reduced salaries and benefits, and undermine the economic survival of mining communities.
Background And History
For years, Ghana’s mining communities have lived with the consequences of gold mining, including human rights abuses, environmental destruction, and loss of livelihoods. However, the payslip of permanent mineworkers has been a crucial factor in sustaining these towns, funding District Assemblies, SSNIT, markets, rental houses, and shops. The Minerals Commission’s directive is the latest development in this context, with the regulator ordering major mining companies, including Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti, and Chinese-owned Zijin Mining, to transition to contract mining.
How It Works
The Minerals and Mining (Local Content and Local Participation) Regulations, 2020, require surface mining to be undertaken by wholly Ghanaian-owned firms and underground mining by firms with at least 50% local ownership. The directive is intended to increase local participation in the mining industry, but workers and communities are concerned that it may lead to exploitation and undermine their economic well-being. The Ghana Mineworkers’ Union (GMWU) has warned that the contract model is “dangerous, regressive, and economically unsound” and that local content must create opportunities for all Ghanaians, not just a few contractors.
The Numbers
Data compiled by the Minerals Commission shows that operational contract rates have plummeted by over 17% as local contractors undercut each other to win concessions. The GMWU reports that as of the end of 2024, more than 90% of workers were on fixed-term and casual employment, while permanent employment accounted for less than 10%. By 2026, the figure has climbed above 95%, meaning nineteen out of every twenty mineworkers are on short-term, casual or contract arrangements. When workers move from owner-mining to contractor, wages fall by at least half for the same job, with internal contractor staff confirming that contractor workers typically earn around 50% less in basic pay than direct employees.
What It Means Now
The directive has sparked protests from mineworkers and host communities, who fear that the transition to contract mining could lead to job losses, reduced salaries and benefits, and undermine the economic survival of mining communities. The Ghana Chamber of Mines has urged dialogue on mining reforms and job protection, stressing the need for consultation to avoid negative economic impacts. The Chamber’s Chief Operating Officer, Ahmed Dasana Nantogmah, has emphasized that the method of implementation must prioritize the protection of current jobs, uphold safety standards, and ensure operational efficiency. The demonstrators are calling on the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to suspend the directive and engage stakeholders before any transition is implemented. As GMWU General Secretary Abdul-Moomin Gbana told journalists, “Local content must therefore create opportunities for all Ghanaians. It cannot become a vehicle for exploitation to enrich a few contractors at the expense of the workers who risk and sweat day and night in the bowels of the earth to produce the wealth.” The next step, according to the Ghana Mine Workers Union, is to convene a stakeholders’ engagement to discuss local content and its implications on workers and host communities, with the union’s local chairman, Nicholas Kyei Badu, saying “we respectfully call on the Honourable Minister and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to take the following immediate actions: immediate suspension of the contract mining directive.”
Sources
- Contract Mining Directive: How Minerals Commission's push for local content is creating working poor in mining towns in Ghana – MyJoyOnline
- Ghana Chamber of Mines: Urges Dialogue on Mining Reforms Job Protection | Briefly
- ER: Mine workers protest directive to transition to contract mining by December
Photo: UNCTAD (CC BY-SA 2.0)
