The government has warned that it will no longer tolerate foreign mining companies using Ghanaian fronts to meet local content rules in the sector.

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, said the practice weakens attempts to secure genuine Ghanaian participation and retain value in the industry.

Addressing the 2026 Mining Sector Local Content Summit in Takoradi on February 18, 2026, Mr Buah issued a warning to foreign firms and Ghanaian partners.

“The platform we are trying to create, the great opportunity we are opening for Ghanaian participation, comes with a solemn warning,” he said. “We will not condone any form of fronting using Ghanaians.”

Mr Buah described fronting as a deliberate abuse of local content rules.

“The practice where foreign companies hide behind Ghanaian names, using our people as mere masks to satisfy regulatory requirements while retaining all the control and the benefit, is a theft of opportunity and a betrayal of everything this summit stands for,” he said.

Mr Buah said the government’s approach to local content in mining aimed at real ownership, skills transfer and decision-making power, not paperwork compliance.

“To my fellow Ghanaians, brothers, do not serve your tribe for crumbs when you can own the bakery,” he said, urging local businesses to pursue equity, partnerships and long-term growth instead of short-term gains.

Mr Buah said the Minerals Commission had developed a mining local content and local procurement policy that places Ghanaian participation at the centre of sector planning.

“The foundation is already being laid,” he said. “The Minerals Commission has developed a mining local content and local procurement policy that prioritises Ghanaian participation, not as an afterthought but as a strategic imperative.”

He added that work was underway to establish a special purpose vehicle to support sustainable partnerships and industrial development in the sector.

Mr Buah said Ghana remained open to foreign investment, adding that partnerships must be structured to build local capacity.

“What we seek is not because we do not recognise the importance of investors. In fact, we want them,” he said. “But we seek structured, intentional partnerships backed by capital and technology, the kind that transform potential into performance.”

President John Dramani Mahama, who opened the summit, said Ghana must move beyond exporting raw minerals while high-value activities take place abroad.

“We have been prolific producers, but we have not yet become full participants in the extractive value chain,” the President said.

He said the government was reviewing mining legislation and regulations to ensure Ghanaian enterprises move up the value chain, from suppliers of consumables to owners and innovators.

“We must aim to eliminate raw ore exports within the next five years,” Mr Mahama said. “We must support the establishment of refineries and bullion infrastructure and promote mineral based industrial clusters.”

The President said enforcement of local content rules would determine whether mining contributes meaningfully to jobs, skills development and community growth.

“Local content cannot be separated from responsible mining,” he said. “Mining must leave our communities better than it found them.”