Government through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has issued additional directives to guide the implementation of Ghana’s contract mining policy, with a focus on protecting workers’ salaries, benefits and conditions of service.

The measures are intended to safeguard workers’ welfare as mining companies transition from owner mining to contract mining.

Under the policy, indigenous Ghanaian companies are required to undertake contract mining for surface mining operations, while underground mining operations must be carried out through partnerships in which Ghanaian-owned companies hold at least a 50 percent interest.

The requirement was incorporated into the sixth edition of the Local Procurement List, effective January 1, 2025, under the Minerals and Mining (Local Content and Local Participation) Regulations, 2020 (LI 2431).

In a statement signed by its Director of Communications, Zambaga Rufai Saminu, the Ministry said most multinational mining companies operating in Ghana had successfully transitioned their operations to comply with the requirement.

However, concerns raised by the Ghana Mineworkers’ Union, human resource experts and other stakeholders over the potential impact of the transition on workers’ salaries and conditions of service have prompted further consultations.

The Ministry said it had been engaging the union’s leadership, industry experts and other stakeholders alongside the Minerals Commission to address the concerns.

“These engagements have clarified the regulatory and policy basis of the contract mining directive and reaffirmed the Government's firm position that no worker shall be rendered worse off as a consequence of its implementation,” the statement said.

It added that workers employed by Ghanaian contract mining companies must receive salaries, wages, allowances, benefits and incentives equivalent to those of owner mining workers performing comparable duties before the transition.

As part of the additional measures, the government has directed the Minerals Commission to ensure that no worker engaged by a mining contractor or similar service provider suffers a reduction in wages, entitlements, benefits or conditions of service because of the transition.

The Commission has also been tasked with harmonising salaries, wages and conditions of service across the mining industry value chain and categorising eligible contractors according to their capacity to provide mining-related services.

The Ministry said the measures were supplementary to existing regulations and would not prevent the Minerals Commission from taking further lawful action to advance local content objectives.

The Commission is expected to complete the processes required to implement the measures and submit the necessary documents for approval by November 30, 2026.

The Ministry also warned against unfair labour practices and activities that undermine local participation in the mining sector.

“Under the Reset Agenda of the Government of President John Dramani Mahama, there shall be ZERO TOLERANCE for unfair labour practices, cartelisation, bid rigging, fronting, or any other conduct that undermines local content objectives or operates to the detriment of the Ghanaian worker,” the statement said.

It added that the government remained committed to promoting fairness, transparency, genuine Ghanaian participation and the protection of workers across the mining industry value chain.



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