Ghanaian businessman bids to take over gold mine from Africa’s biggest miner

After bringing the Black Volta gold project into production last year, Ghanaian businessman Ibrahim Mahama is taking another step in expanding his gold mining operations. His company, Engineers and Planners Company Limited, is one of three shortlisted bidders to assume control of the Damang gold mine in Ghana’s Western Region. The government decided not to renew the nearly 30-year lease held by South Africa’s Gold Fields, Africa’s largest mining company, signaling a shift toward increased local participation in the mining sector.

This comes as Ghana’s reforms aim to keep more wealth in the country. The government introduced a sliding royalty scale of up to 12 percent, replacing the previous flat 5 percent rate, and strengthened local content rules. The changes have drawn diplomatic pressure from the U.S., China, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, with each warning that higher royalties could discourage investment. Despite this, Ghana is pressing ahead, presenting the reforms as part of an effort to retain value from natural resources and support domestic businesses.

Local ownership drives Gold Fields’ exit

The formal handover to the state is scheduled for April 18, 2026. Regulators from Ghana’s Minerals Commission are reviewing bids from Engineers and Planners, BCM International, and the consortium Vortex Resources. Officials are assessing which company can best manage operational and financial challenges at Damang. Gold Fields’ feasibility study indicates the mine could yield 100,000–150,000 ounces of gold annually for at least nine more years, though sustaining production would require $500 million–$600 million in new investment.

Gold Fields, with a market capitalization of R663.9 billion ($40 billion), will exit one of Ghana’s longest-running gold assets after nearly three decades. Engineers and Planners, led by Mahama, carries operational credibility as Damang’s long-term contractor, giving it deep knowledge of the mine’s systems, workforce, and geology. Gold Fields’ CEO Mike Fraser said the company respected the government’s preference for local ownership, while senior vice president Elliot Twum noted in November 2025 that Engineers and Planners was well positioned to maintain operations, depending on the final ownership arrangement.

Ibrahim Mahama secures $205 million mining loan

Earlier this month, Engineers and Planners secured a $205 million financing package arranged by Stanbic Bank Ghana and Standard Bank of South Africa, with support from Ecobank Ghana and Absa Bank Ghana. The five-year senior secured loan, divided into $110 million and $95 million tranches, will expand contract mining at Damang and Tarkwa, another Gold Fields operation in the region. The funding is earmarked for equipment upgrades, efficiency improvements in hard-rock mining, and longer-term operational capacity.

The bid has drawn political attention, as Ibrahim Mahama is the younger brother of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, who returned to office in January 2025. Critics have raised concerns about potential influence, leading Engineers and Planners to file an ongoing defamation suit in Accra. It maintains that its interest in Damang predates the current administration, tracing back to September 2023, when Gold Fields first invited it to demobilize equipment—a proposal Engineers and Planners later converted into a purchase plan.