(Reuters) – Ghana, Africa’s top gold producer, has launched its most aggressive mining audit in a decade, targeting top miners to recover lost revenue and tighten oversight, a government letter seen by Reuters shows.
Governments across West Africa are intensifying scrutiny of mining firms to enforce compliance with regulations and safeguard revenue from soaring commodity prices.
Spot gold prices hit a record above $4,380 a troy ounce on October 20.
The audit will cover major gold miners including top producer Newmont (NEM.N), opens new tab, AngloGold Ashanti (AU.N), opens new tab, Gold Fields (GFIJ.J), opens new tab, Perseus (PRU.AX), opens new tab, Asante Gold (ASE.V), opens new tab and China’s Zijin (601899.SS), opens new tab.
It will be led by government auditors, forensic accountants, and independent consultants, according to an October 13 government letter from the regulatory Minerals Commission sent to mining companies via the Ghana Chamber of Mines.
Industry regulator, the Minerals Commission, is deploying teams for the nationwide physical and financial audit from November 1 to June 2026 to scrutinise production volumes, mineral flows, tax and royalty payments and environmental compliance.
Miners must submit 10 years’ worth of production logs, 3 years of financial records, all permits, stockpiles and shipping manifests by October 31.
Company-specific reports are due within 30 days of each site visit, the letter said.
The Minerals Commission declined to comment. The mines ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
TRUE REVENUE POTENTIAL
Mining is key to the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, generating 17.7 billion Ghanaian cedis ($1.68 billion) in 2024, driven by a 25.1% surge in gold output that helped stabilise the economy after its worst crisis in a generation.
Ghana, which also exports bauxite, diamonds and manganese, expects gold output to rise to 5.1 million ounces this year from 4.8 million.
The commission’s letter details a phased audit starting with Gold Fields’ Damang mine and Perseus in November, ending with Canada-based Xtra-Gold’s (XTG.TO), opens new tab Kibi unit in late June 2026.
Individual companies have received letters detailing the schedule, an executive of one of the companies said, asking not to be named.
AngloGold Ashanti, Asante Gold, Gold Fields, Newmont, Perseus, Xtra-Gold, and Zijin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Chamber of Mines also did not immediately respond.
Ghana last audited its mining sector in 2015 with help from external investigators, but some companies challenged the findings, a source familiar with the process told Reuters.
Special audits should be done every year, not periodically, Said Boakye, an economist and research fellow at the Accra-based Institute for Fiscal Studies, told Reuters.
“It’s the only way to inform sound tax policy and unlock the sector’s true revenue potential.”
The government is pushing sweeping reforms to boost returns. Its mines minister said the country planned to shorten licence terms and enforce direct revenue-sharing with host communities, the most ambitious mining law overhaul in nearly 20 years.
($1 = 10.5500 Ghanian cedi)
