‘Prove Legitimacy by September 1 or Lose Licence’ – Lands Minister to Small-Scale Miners

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has issued a final ultimatum to small-scale miners, warning that all licence holders who fail to prove the legitimacy of their concessions by 5:00 p.m. on 1st September 2025 will have their licences permanently revoked.

The directive follows the work of a special Licence Review Committee mandated to audit existing small-scale mining permits. Out of 1,278 licences reviewed, only 316 were deemed fully compliant, while the remaining 962 showed various irregularities. Already, 55 licences have been revoked earlier this year as part of the clean-up exercise.

The Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners (GNASSM) had earlier pleaded for an extension, which the Minister granted—pushing the deadline to the end of August 2025. But with the new deadline fast approaching, the Ministry has made clear there will be no further grace period.

In a statement, the Ministry stressed:

“Affected licence holders are therefore reminded to submit any documentation to prove the legitimacy of their small-scale mining licences to the Ministry on or before 17:00 hrs., 1st September 2025. Failure to do so will result in the revocation of their licence by the Honourable Minister.”

Mr. Armah-Kofi Buah explained that the review exercise forms part of government’s broader efforts to sanitize the mining sector and combat illegal mining, which continues to threaten water bodies and the environment.

Meanwhile, the Ministry has also announced plans to conduct a robust review of large-scale mining licences, signaling a comprehensive compliance drive across the entire sector.