Western Regional Minister Joseph Nelson has called on Sankofa Gold Mine to maintain uninterrupted production and identify new opportunities to secure the long-term future of the state-owned company.
Mr Nelson made the appeal on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, during a working visit to the mine at Prestea, which is wholly owned by the government and operates under the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
The minister inspected the processing plant and tailings facilities to assess progress in the mine’s efforts to restore and strengthen operations.
Sankofa resumed production after about nine months of inactivity. Mr Nelson described the restart as encouraging but warned management that the plant must remain operational, except when shutdowns are required for maintenance.
“We don’t want to hear of a situation where the plant is down again for any other reason apart from maintenance,” he said.
He also urged the company to make the most of Ghana’s renewed drive to maximise value from its gold resources, including opportunities connected to GoldBod.
Mr Nelson said higher production at Sankofa would improve the company’s financial position while creating jobs, increasing government revenue and supporting economic development.
“Once you’re able to up your game, it means that you’re producing more gold, adding more to what GoldBod is able to purchase, and of course, then you are contributing more to the stability and development of this country,” he said.
The minister welcomed management’s plans to diversify the company’s operations and improve its long-term sustainability. He also expressed confidence that a new board would support management and staff after difficulties experienced under the previous board.
Mr Nelson said the recent challenges should provide lessons for the new leadership and help prevent further operational instability.
“Sankofa must tell a good story, even a better story, going forward,” he said.
New tailings facility critical to production
Sankofa Managing Director Alhaji Ishaq Dauda said the mine’s current tailings storage facility has only about three months of deposition capacity remaining.
He said completing the replacement facility, known as TSF2, was therefore essential to keeping the mine in operation. The project is being funded entirely from Sankofa’s internal resources and is about 80 percent complete.
Civil works are due to finish by the end of October, with commissioning planned for December.
“If we don’t complete this one in three months, it means that we may have to shut down again, which we don’t want to,” Alhaji Dauda said.
Construction began in May 2025 but was delayed by regulatory requirements, consultations with traditional authorities and heavier-than-expected rainfall.
The Minerals Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also instructed the company to build a one-kilometre covered drainage system to divert the Subri River and protect the environment.
Alhaji Dauda said teams were working day and night to meet the December target, while insisting that regulatory standards would not be compromised.
“We are not in a haste to complete, but rather, we are in a haste to do the right thing to complete,” he said.
Sankofa has spent about GH¢6 million refurbishing processing tanks and approximately US$440,000 raising and extending the walls of the existing tailings facility. Alhaji Dauda said the work was needed because some plant equipment had been in service for several years.
He added that completing TSF2 would remove a major operational constraint and enable the mine to work closer to full production capacity.
The company has also engaged about 150 community youths through graduate trainee and casual employment programmes, with further expansion expected to create additional jobs.
