Denis Gyeyir, Country Manager of the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), has warned that persistent politicization of Ghana’s Nyinahin bauxite block threatens investor attraction to the mining sector.
In an exclusive interview with The High Street Journal, Gyeyir emphasized that both foreign and local investors perceive growing risks due to recurring political interference. His comments follow a Reuters report alleging the government canceled a $1.2 billion bauxite lease with local firm Rocksure International, signed in May 2024 and submitted to Parliament under the previous administration.
Reuters cited three sources claiming the government now seeks partnerships with overseas companies from Dubai or China to develop one of West Africa’s richest deposits. Officials from Rocksure and Ghana’s Lands Ministry declined to comment pre-publication. Post-report, the government rejected the claims as “misleading and baseless,” clarifying no valid lease existed. A Ministry statement noted the Rocksure agreement lacked ratification by Ghana’s 8th Parliament before its January 2025 dissolution.
Gyeyir traced the block’s troubled history to 2016, when the Mahama administration awarded Exton Cubic a concession days before leaving office—a deal annulled in 2017 over parliamentary ratification lapses. The Rocksure agreement’s similar fate, he argued, signals a destructive pattern. “This block has been subject to political manoeuvres… If Reuters’ report is true, it’s worrying,” he stated, stressing that strategic assets like bauxite should transcend partisan politics.
The NRGI manager highlighted broader implications for Ghana’s investment reputation. Neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone offer comparable bauxite reserves with greater stability, making Ghana vulnerable to capital flight. “Investors weigh these political risks when deciding on downstream projects like refineries,” Gyeyir explained, noting every canceled contract erodes perceptions of legal predictability. He urged policy consistency and due process to shield mining from electoral cycles, asserting investors prioritize certainty over resources alone.
