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Northern Ashanti Mines has filed an application for an injunction seeking to prevent the state from taking over its mining concession at Konongo while the court considers its challenge to the termination of its mining lease.
The application follows an operation on Thursday, October 22, 2026, during which officials from the Minerals Commission, accompanied by military personnel, entered the company’s concession to enforce the termination of its lease over alleged breaches that the company had reportedly failed to remedy.
The company is challenging the decision through a judicial review application, arguing that the Minerals Commission breached mining laws by terminating the lease without giving it prior notice of the alleged violations and an opportunity to address them.
Through the injunction application, Northern Ashanti Mines is asking the court to restrain the Minerals Commission, its assigns and privies from taking control of the concession, deploying military personnel to the site or transferring the mining rights to another party until the substantive case has been determined.
In an affidavit supporting the application, the company’s Administrative Manager, Jonathan Adongo, stated that the concession was first handed over to the company in 2010, when it operated under the name Owere Mines.
He further indicated that the mining lease was renewed in 2023 for a period of 13 years.
However, in April 2026, the Minerals Commission, acting on behalf of the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, notified the company that its lease had been terminated over alleged breaches.
Mr Adongo maintains that the termination was unlawful and is urging the court to prevent the authorities from enforcing the decision until the judicial review proceedings have been concluded.
The company argues that a state takeover, the deployment of military personnel or the transfer of the concession to another operator would cause irreparable harm that could not be adequately compensated for financially.
According to court documents, Northern Ashanti Mines has invested at least US$110 million in its operations and maintains that proceeding with the takeover would negatively affect the company and its investors.
The company has also alleged that the state intends to transfer the concession to Chinese investors, a development it seeks to prevent while its legal challenge remains before the court.
The court is being asked to preserve the existing position until the legality of the lease termination can be determined.