Ghana’s Natural Resource Governance Institute is pressing the government to publish the full assessment report behind the approval of the Damang mining lease to Engineers and Planners Limited, saying the public deserves to see the evidence that led to the decision. Patrick Stephenson, speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on Tuesday, said the process cannot be judged by the minister’s approval alone.
“We would like to see that the results of this work—the assessment—are published, not just the decision of the minister,” Stephenson said, adding that transparency is critical to sustaining public trust in Ghana’s extractive sector. He also described the missing evaluation documents as a “black box” in the decision-making chain and said, “It is not just about the decision, it is about the process and the data behind it.”
The ministry officially approved the grant of the Damang Mining Lease to E&P on 7 April 2026, with Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah saying he upheld the recommendations of a specialised Tender Committee. That committee had selected E&P as the most capable bidder to extend the life of the Damang Mine beyond the next decade, after four companies submitted bids by the 31 March deadline. Its report said E&P was the only bidder that fully satisfied the financial requirements and showed access to financing that met the USD 500 million threshold.
The speed of the final step is now part of the dispute. Stephenson questioned how the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources could move from the committee’s recommendations to approval in what he said was reportedly two hours, arguing that the absence of publicly available assessment reports leaves the public unable to see how the decision was reached. In a country where mineral licensing depends on technical committees, procurement structures and ministerial sign-off, NRGI says the Damang case has become a test of how open that system really is.
The issue also reaches beyond one mine. NRGI linked the Damang bidding process to longstanding concerns over weaknesses in Ghana’s mineral licensing framework and uncertainty over how mineral rights are awarded. Stephenson said recent reviews of the minerals value chain, including emerging sectors such as lithium, have raised the same transparency concerns, making the publication of the Damang assessment report a larger question about how Ghana explains decisions over its natural resources.
For now, the demand is straightforward: publish the assessment, show the data and remove the doubt. Without that, the approval of one of Ghana’s significant mineral assets will remain defined as much by what has not been disclosed as by the decision that has already been signed.
