The Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) has rejected reports suggesting that government plans to hand over the Nyinahin bauxite concessions to businessman Ibrahim Mahama, calling the claims “false and misleading.”
In its statement, GIADEC said it had taken note of a publication alleging that the Government of Ghana intends to grant concessions to Mr. Mahama, stressing that, “no such plan exists.” The corporation added: “GIADEC unequivocally refutes this allegation and states for the avoidance of doubt that no such plan exists.”
GIADEC explained that the decision to centralise control of Ghana’s bauxite resources dates back to the period when executive approval was granted under President John Dramani Mahama. The intention, it said, was to enable the corporation to hold leases over all known reserves and attract investment into the aluminium sector.
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Bringing bauxite leases under state control
According to GIADEC, this approach was designed to give the corporation the strength required to execute its mandate and position Ghana to fully benefit from bauxite.
It revealed that in June 2025, the corporation obtained six mining leases, including concessions at Nyinahin, in line with the executive approval. These leases, it stated, are currently before Parliament awaiting ratification. Under existing policy, GIADEC emphasised, all concessions will remain with the corporation as leaseholder, with additional safeguards being developed to ensure the arrangement outlives the current administration.
Also read: Here’s how Ghana is advancing its ambitious aluminium agenda; six new bauxite mining licences are in
Governance risks flagged as politics enters the mining space
Even as GIADEC defended its mandate, broader concerns about political influence in the sector have resurfaced.
The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) has warned that bauxite - considered one of Ghana’s most promising resources for industrial transformation - is increasingly at risk from political interference.
NRGI Country Manager Denis Gyeyir cautioned that the Nyinahin deposit in the Ashanti Region is being mishandled due to partisan competition, undermining investor confidence and slowing the wider industrialisation plan.
He noted that the history of Nyinahin mirrors Ghana’s longstanding struggle to balance legality, political interests and state-led industrial ambitions - involving court rulings, cancelled concessions and repeated resets.
Interest in Nyinahin intensified in 2016 when Exton Cubic Group Ltd, linked to Ibrahim Mahama, received a prospecting licence. Protests followed in 2017 over the perceived absence of community benefits, and the Supreme Court eventually ruled in 2019 that the award was invalid because it lacked parliamentary approval under Article 268 of the Constitution.
Parliament subsequently passed Act 976 in 2018, creating GIADEC to centralise control over deposits in Nyinahin, Atebubu and elsewhere. A global tender launched in 2021 was won by Rocksure International, forming a joint venture targeting Block B of Nyinahin with plans for mining and refining by 2026.
Rocksure secured permits, completed Ghana’s first mineral resource estimate -confirming over 375 million tonnes and presented its findings to President Akufo-Addo in 2023. But the venture faltered when the lease still had not been ratified by Parliament. Political disagreements followed, leading to the termination of the agreement on July 28, 2025, and the relaunch of tenders, including interest from foreign firms such as EGA.
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