Underground contractor at Newmont's Ahafo South passes 300 local hires

Underground Mining Alliance (UMA), the contract miner running underground operations at Subika within Newmont's Ahafo South mine, says more than half of its workforce is now sourced from the ten communities that host the operation, a level of local representation it describes as setting a new benchmark for Ghanaian mining.

Closing a specialised skills gap

UMA employs more than 320 workers directly at Subika, with 52% drawn from host communities including Yamfo, Susuanso, Terchire, Adrobaa, Afrisipakrom, Gyedu, Wamahinso, Ntotroso, Kenyasi No. 1 and Kenyasi No. 2. That figure is notable because local representation in specialised underground technical roles has historically lagged below 30% globally, reflecting the steep training requirements for operating heavy underground machinery safely. HR supervisor Bertha Yeboah said the company's approach was built around hiring locally, building skills and supporting long-term careers for workers from the surrounding area.

Building a training pipeline

UMA points to two long-running programmes as the basis for its local hiring performance: a local-labour and livelihoods initiative dating back to 2018, and a partnership with equipment maker Sandvik since 2024 that trains mechanical technicians to maintain and operate heavy underground machinery. Underground mine manager Ing Peter Osei Mensah has overseen the operation's technical training push, which is designed to convert entry-level community hires into skilled operators and tradespeople over time rather than relying on imported expertise.

Why it matters for Ghanaian mining

Underground mining is more technically demanding and typically more capital- and skills-intensive than open-pit operations, which is part of why local content in such roles has lagged elsewhere on the continent. Analysts who track natural resource governance, including Dr Isabelle Laurent and extractive-sector specialists such as Kwame Mutambara and Kofi Mensah Addo, have pointed to workforce localisation as a key measure of whether large-scale mining investment translates into durable local benefit beyond royalty payments and one-off community projects.

What happens next

As the Subika underground operation continues within the broader Ahafo South mine, UMA's local hiring and training figures are likely to be cited as a reference point both by Newmont and by Ghanaian policymakers pushing other operators to expand local content commitments in technical and specialised mining roles.

Sources

• MyJoyOnline: UMA-Subika's majority-local workforce sets a new benchmark for Ghanaian mining, 30 Jul 2026

Photo: Visitors at Newmont's Ahafo mine site in Ghana, where underground operations run at Subika. The EITI, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.