The Minerals Commission has suspended underground mining at the Gbane and Adakoto sites in the Talensi District for two weeks as tensions over the boundaries between Earl International Group Ghana Gold Limited and Nanlaamtaba Mining Company deepen.
The directive follows an increasingly volatile dispute over competing claims to mining areas, with earlier confrontations underground raising concerns about the safety of workers and security personnel.
Chief Mining Inspector Joseph Frimpong, in a formal prohibition notice signed by representatives of both companies, ordered the suspension of all underground mining activities.
Only essential safety operations, including ventilation and de-watering, are permitted during the suspension. The Commission has also prohibited firearms at the sites and directed the companies to disclose the locations of all underground shafts.
The two companies are expected to meet officials of the Minerals Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources in Accra to resolve the boundary dispute and agree on a permanent arrangement.
The intervention comes against the backdrop of a dispute that has already drawn judicial and security attention. In November 2025, the Bolgatanga High Court ordered the Upper East Regional Police Command to provide protection for Zongdaan Boyak Kolog, popularly known as Poloo, who operates Nanlaamtaba Enterprise, to undertake mining activities at Gbane. The order subsequently became a source of tension with Earl International, which holds a large-scale mining lease covering the area.
Earl International is the operator of the Gbane Gold Project. The company, formerly known as Shaanxi Mining (GH) Mineral Processing Company, was incorporated in 2013 and changed its name to Earl International Group (GH) Gold Limited in November 2017. Its large-scale mining lease was granted in April 2019, with operations subsequently commencing under a mining operating permit.
The company operates an underground mine with four vertical shafts and has reported employing about 1,000 Ghanaians, with a large proportion drawn from the Talensi area. Its processing plant has a stated capacity of more than 2,000 tonnes of ore per day.
The latest suspension therefore puts a significant local economic activity on hold, with the Upper East Regional Minister, Donatus Akamugri Atanga, warning that a prolonged dispute could damage the region’s image and affect thousands of livelihoods linked to mining.
Talensi District Chief Executive John Millim has also called for an early settlement, while Upper East Regional Police Commander DCOP Ferguson Dzineku has assured residents that the security situation will be contained.
The immediate priority, however, is to keep workers out of the disputed underground areas while the Minerals Commission and the two mining operators work towards a settlement.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
