Northern Ashanti Mines has invested nearly $200 million in developing its gold mining project at Konongo and was preparing to begin production before the recent operation that removed its workers from the concession, director and shareholder Fredrick Okine has said.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show with Bernard Avle, Okine said the company had spent 24 years developing the mine and had constructed a new processing plant as part of preparations to begin production.
“We have spent money, a lot of money to explore. We have built a new plant in the last two years. I think we are looking at almost $200 million that we have expended from local funding,” he said.
Okine explained that the investment had been financed through local banks, with local engineering expertise used in the construction work.
He said the company had faced technical challenges because of the nature of the ore body and needed to ensure it had suitable processing equipment before starting full operations.
According to him, the company had previously suspended mining in 2009 after discovering that its existing plant was not suitable for processing the ore economically.
“We had to stop mining and we had to regroup because we had a plant that was not suitable to process the ore body,” he said, adding that the company had since worked towards obtaining the appropriate plant.
Okine said Northern Ashanti Mines had hoped to start pouring gold in the third quarter of 2026, but disruptions affecting imported equipment forced it to revise the target to the first quarter of 2027.
“We have been working towards that as seriously as any mine will do, and we are really ready now to start mining,” he said.
He argued that the company’s investment and years of development should be considered in resolving the dispute over its mining lease.
Okine said the termination of the lease and the operation at the site had disrupted the company’s plans just as it was preparing to move from development into production.
He called for discussions with the relevant authorities to find a solution that would protect the investment and allow the matter to be resolved fairly.
