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Ghana's Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has awarded the Damang Mining Lease to Engineers and Planners Ltd, the wholly Ghanaian-owned mining and construction firm founded by Ibrahim Mahama, ending a 30-year run at the asset by South Africa's Gold Fields and marking what the government has described as a landmark shift toward local ownership of the country's gold resources.
The announcement was made on April 7, 2026, by Lands and Natural Resources Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, who approved the recommendation of the Minerals Commission's Tender Committee and directed the Commission to take all regulatory steps necessary to formalise the award. Gold Fields is scheduled to formally hand the mine to the Ghanaian state on April 18, with a government-appointed transition team set to assume interim operational control from April 19 pending formalisation of the E&P arrangement.
How the tender played out
Four companies submitted bids ahead of the March 31, 2026 deadline: Engineers and Planners, Heath Goldfields Ltd, Vortex Resources Mining Group and Maripoma Mining Services Ltd. The tender was restricted to wholly Ghanaian-owned companies, a condition that reflected the government's stated commitment to local participation in the sector.
The Minerals Commission's Phase 1 screening, which checked for mandatory requirements including proof of full Ghanaian ownership, valid tax, SSNIT and VAT clearance certificates, certificate of incorporation and payment of a GHS100,000 application fee, eliminated Vortex Resources and Maripoma at the initial stage.
Heath Goldfields cleared Phase 1 but subsequently failed to attain the required minimum technical score, leaving Engineers and Planners as the sole qualifying finalist. The Tender Committee's formal assessment found that E&P "satisfied all mandatory requirements set out in the Notice and provided documentary evidence of access to financing, meeting the USD 500 million minimum threshold." Specifically, E&P demonstrated access to $505 million in financing, scored strongly on technical experience, equipment, safety and local content.
The Committee's conclusion was unambiguous: "The Company demonstrated the highest capability to operate the Damang mine, substantiated by their submission of the most viable tender."
The mine and what it requires
The Damang Gold Mine sits in Ghana's Western Region and has been operated by Gold Fields since the South African company acquired interests in the 1990s. Gold Fields held a 90% stake, with the Government of Ghana retaining a 10% free carried interest. The mining lease expired in 2025, after which the government granted a one-year extension to allow an orderly transition.
A feasibility study submitted by Gold Fields to the Minerals Commission in December 2025 found the mine can sustain operations for approximately nine more years, with projected annual output of 100,000 to 150,000 ounces of gold. Reaching that production level will require between $500 million and $600 million in fresh investment, a capital demand that shaped the minimum financing threshold set for the tender.
The mine employs a workforce exceeding 2,000 people. The minister has said there will be no layoffs during the transition, citing direct instructions from President John Dramani Mahama to protect all employment at the site.
Engineers and Planners and Ibrahim Mahama
Engineers and Planners Company Ltd was founded in 1997 by Ibrahim Mahama, a Ghanaian businessman born in 1971 and younger brother of President John Dramani Mahama, who returned to power in January 2025. The company has served as the primary mining contractor at Damang for years, a role that gave it granular knowledge of the mine's geological conditions, production systems and workforce. Gold Fields senior vice president Elliot Twum acknowledged in a November 2025 letter that E&P was well positioned to support continued operations depending on the final ownership structure.
E&P's formal pursuit of the Damang asset predates the current administration by more than two years. The company first took concrete steps toward acquisition in September 2023, when Gold Fields notified E&P to begin demobilising its contractor equipment. Rather than withdrawing, E&P responded with a purchase proposal addressed to Gold Fields chief executive Mike Fraser. A no-objection letter was granted by the previous Akufo-Addo government in March 2024.
To back the bid financially, E&P secured a $205 million syndicated loan in February 2026, arranged by Stanbic Bank Ghana and Standard Bank of South Africa, with Ecobank Ghana and Absa Bank Ghana as participating lenders. The five-year senior secured facility was structured in two tranches of $110 million and $95 million, directed at expanding the company's mining operations at both Damang and the nearby Tarkwa mine, also operated by Gold Fields. Separately, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development approved a $120 million facility to fund E&P's acquisition of the Black Volta Gold Project from Australian company Azumah Resources, a transaction that began in October 2023.
E&P currently employs more than 4,000 workers across its operations at Tarkwa and Damang combined.
The political dimension
The transaction has attracted scrutiny because of Ibrahim Mahama's family relationship with the sitting president. Policy analyst Bright Simons of IMANI Africa raised concerns about political influence in the process in April 2025, arguing the circumstances warranted examination. Engineers and Planners and Ibrahim Mahama filed a defamation suit against Simons at an Accra High Court in response. That case is continuing.
The government has maintained that the process was conducted transparently, and the Ministry's April 7 statement pointed to the Tender Committee's evaluation framework and the competitive nature of the process. The minister commended the Minerals Commission and the Tender Committee for their work and reaffirmed the government's commitment to ensuring the Damang Mine continues to contribute to Ghana's economy.
Beyond Damang, Ibrahim Mahama's business interests span cement production through Dzata Cement, which operates the largest single cement facility in Ghana at 2.6 million tonnes per year capacity, as well as Asutuare Poultry Farms and vehicle distribution through Man Bosch Ghana. He took delivery in March 2026 of a new $70 million Bombardier Global 6500 private jet and separately announced the conversion of his previous Bombardier Challenger 604 aircraft into an air ambulance available to Ghanaians.
