Ghana’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has issued a pre-closure notice to Cardinal Namdini Mining over an allegedly unreported environmental incident at the Namdini Gold Mine.
Cardinal Namdini is owned by China’s Shandong Gold Mining (HKG:1787).
EPA Deputy Chief Executive for Operations Michael Ayamga told Reuters the notice partly concerns an alleged failure to promptly report the separation of a tailings pipeline, which resulted in a spill from the mine-waste transport system.
The EPA has not disclosed when the incident occurred, the volume or contents of the spill, or any identified environmental impacts.
A pre-closure notice gives the operator an opportunity to respond before the regulator decides whether further action is warranted. The notice does not mean Namdini has been ordered to close.
Cardinal Namdini has not publicly commented on the notice.
The action forms part of increased environmental oversight of Ghana’s mining industry. Ayamga says the EPA is moving from periodic inspections towards continuous monitoring and enforcement, alongside planned environmental, social, and governance audits.
“We don’t want to be reactive but proactive,” Ayamga says.
The regulator is also reviewing findings from an inspection of Gold Fields’ (NYSE:GFI) Tarkwa Gold Mine.
Namdini is an open-pit operation in Ghana’s Upper East Region. The mine was commissioned in November 2024 and moved into commercial production during 2025.
Shandong Gold is a Chinese gold producer with mining operations and investments in China, Ghana, and Argentina.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Main image: Shandong Gold Mining
