Ghana’s Environmental Protection Authority has issued a pre-closure notice to Chinese-owned Cardinal Namdini Mining over an allegedly unreported accident as the regulator intensifies oversight of the country’s mining sector. EPA Deputy Chief Executive for Operations Michael Ayamga said the notice partly concerned an allegedly delayed report of a tailings pipeline decoupling that caused a spill from a mine-waste transport system. The EPA also shut down Chinese-owned Earl International Group last week over what Ayamga described as a legacy compliance issue linked to illegal gold mining activity, although an Earl spokesperson said the company had addressed the concerns and was cleared to resume operations on Monday under an environmental permit signed by the regulator’s chief executive on September 28. The authority is reviewing an inspection report on Gold Fields’ Tarkwa operation and previously fined AngloGold’s smaller Iduapriem mine for environmental breaches, without detailing the violations. Ghana, Africa’s biggest gold producer, is tightening oversight to increase revenue, local participation and compliance through higher royalties, broader local-content rules and a proposed mining law. The EPA is moving from periodic inspections to continuous monitoring, with environmental, social and governance audits planned across the sector.