Gold Fields says it will officially hand over the Damang operation on April 18, 2026, after the government decided the mine should move into Ghanaian ownership.
The decision follows a 12-month lease extension granted when the mine’s original lease expired in April 2025. According to the company, that extension was intended to allow for a smooth and orderly transition while discussions about the mine’s future were wrapped up.
Speaking at a media roundtable on the company’s 2025 full-year results, Gold Fields CEO Mike Fraser said the company had initially sought a renewal of the lease.
“Our lease expired in April 2025. We applied for an extension, but the government indicated it preferred the asset to transition to Ghanaian ownership. We accepted that, and frankly, it made sense,” he explained.
Since July 2025, a transition team set up by the sector minister has been working alongside management at the site to coordinate the handover. However, Fraser noted that Gold Fields has not yet been formally informed about who will take over as the long-term operator once the company exits.
For now, the transition team is expected to assume interim control from April 19, 2026, until the government appoints a substantive operator.
“We don’t have clear visibility on the minister’s intentions beyond that point,” Fraser said. “A new operator would need to be appointed and granted a mining lease to continue operations — and that process could require parliamentary approval.”
Under Ghana’s mining regulations, mineral assets revert to the state once a lease expires, leaving the government to decide how ownership and operations will be structured going forward.
As part of the extension conditions, Gold Fields completed a feasibility study on the Damang Mine and submitted it to the Minerals Commission, with a copy to the sector minister at the end of 2025.
The study indicates the mine could continue operating for at least nine more years, with projected annual production ranging between 100,000 and 150,000 ounces of gold.
Internally, the company estimates that extending the mine’s life would require capital investment of between US$500 million and US$600 million. Based on current gold price assumptions, management believes the operation would remain profitable, although Fraser acknowledged that a new operator might adopt a different technical or commercial approach.
Beyond ownership, the bigger concern is continuity.
The Damang Mine directly employs about 500 people, while another 1,000 to 1,500 contractors provide mining services, logistics and energy support. In total, the operation supports roughly 1,500 to 2,000 livelihoods.
Fraser said both the government and the transition team appear focused on avoiding any disruption.
“Failure would occur if we don’t see a continuation of the asset,” he noted, adding that the lease extension was deliberately structured to prevent an abrupt shutdown that could affect workers, contractors and surrounding communities.
Gold Fields’ planned exit from Damang represents a shift within its Ghana portfolio. At the same time, the company is in discussions with authorities over the renewal of its Tarkwa mining lease.
With the April 2026 deadline approaching, attention is now firmly on how quickly the government will name a successor operator and secure the necessary approvals — a process many industry observers say will be closely watched as a measure of policy execution and investor confidence in Ghana’s mining sector.