Dakar—Ghana is developing minimum wage and tender benchmarks for contract mining firms as it seeks to prevent aggressive underbidding from undermining workers’ pay, training and safety, a senior official at the Minerals Commission said on Thursday.

The move comes as Ghana, Africa’s top gold producer, pushes mining companies to transfer more surface operations to Ghanaian-owned contractors and underground operations to joint ventures with at least 50% local ownership.

The policy, introduced in January 2025, requires mining companies to comply by December 31, 2026, with sanctions possible for those that fail to do so.

However, mine workers have opposed the transition, arguing that local contractors often offer lower wages and weaker job security.

Protecting Workers’ Pay

Ben Birch-Mensah, director of local content at Ghana’s Minerals Commission, said the regulator wanted to ensure workers did not become worse off as mining operations move to contractors.

“The regulator does not want people to be worse off under contract mining,” Birch-Mensah said.

He said the commission was preparing a baseline that would prevent contract miners from paying employees below a specified threshold.

The regulator is also developing minimum tender benchmarks to discourage contractors from submitting bids that are too low to sustain mining operations.

According to Birch-Mensah, aggressive underbidding has in some cases left contractors unable to cover their operating costs. A committee is expected to work out the details of the proposed tender framework.

Local Content Push Faces Resistance

Ghana’s outsourcing requirements form part of a wider effort by resource-rich African countries to retain more economic value from their mineral wealth by increasing local participation in mining supply chains.

Birch-Mensah said the December 2026 deadline for local contractors was “non-negotiable.”

Newmont, Zijin Mining and Ghana Manganese Company were among companies yet to comply, he said. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Ghana Chamber of Mines has criticised the mandatory outsourcing policy, arguing that contract mining should remain optional.

It nevertheless supports efforts to establish safeguards against excessive price competition among contractors.

Safety and Training at Risk

Chamber CEO Ken Ashigbey said contractors that continually undercut one another could lack the resources needed to maintain proper working conditions.

“If people keep undercutting themselves, they may not have the resources to undertake the work, they won’t pay workers properly, they won’t train people, and safety is compromised,” Ashigbey said.

The Chamber is also examining contractor classifications and minimum bid thresholds as potential ways to address the problem.

Ashigbey said contractors already account for a significant proportion of mining incidents, adding urgency to concerns over whether excessively low bids could compromise safety standards.

Source: Reuters
Reporting: Maxwell Akalaare Adombila
Editing: Robbie Corey-Boulet & Aurora Ellis