Ghana mining sector faces legal challenges over EPA authority and offshore exploration

Ghana is facing multiple legal and regulatory challenges regarding mining activities. Gold Fields Ghana Limited has filed a judicial review in the High Court to quash a directive from the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). The company seeks to prevent the regulator from conducting a comprehensive environmental, social, governance, and socio-economic assessment of its Tarkwa mine, arguing the EPA lacks the statutory power to mandate such an assessment.

Separately, tensions have risen over offshore gold exploration. The Fisheries Commission has formally protested the granting of an offshore reconnaissance licence to Gold Coast GRC Ghana Ltd. The Commission argues the licence was prepared from a terrestrial perspective without adequate consideration for the marine environment, fishing activities, or the livelihoods of coastal communities.

A coalition of eleven civil society organizations has also petitioned President John Dramani Mahama to review offshore reconnaissance activities along the western continental shelf. The group expressed concerns that the licensed area, held by Gold Coast Resource Corp., overlaps with the Inshore Exclusion Zone and could threaten biodiversity, food security, and human rights before the economic viability of the minerals is even established.