How Angela List used State power to seize an Australian Mine and turn it into a ‘Galamsey Empire’
A politically connected Ghanaian woman used her ties to the Akufo-Addo government to seize an Australian-owned mining company and then turned its concessions into a galamsey playground. Now, the original owners are begging President Mahama to take it back.
The letter arrived at the presidency on April 29, 2026, bearing the letterhead of Adamus Resources PTY Limited the Australian parent company that once owned one of Ghana’s most promising gold mines. It was addressed to President John Mahama, and its contents were remarkable not for what they demanded, but for what they confessed.
“We wish, at the outset, to express our full support for the Government’s decisive action in upholding the rule of law,” wrote Allan Roy Morrison, the company’s Director and Company Secretary. “This action reinforces confidence in Ghana’s regulatory framework.”
The “action” Morrison was applauding was the revocation of Adamus Resources’ controversially rechristened, ‘NGUVU MINING’ mining leases a decision that had stripped the company’s Ghanaian subsidiary of its rights to operate at Akango, Salman, and Info. The subsidiary, now controlled by a powerful Ghanaian woman named Angela List, had been caught red-handed engaging in illegal mining, subcontracting to Chinese operators, and devastating the environment.
The Australian owners were cheering their own loss.
To understand why, one must go back to 2017, when BCM International, an Australian firm, acquired Adamus Resources and its Ghanaian subsidiary. The company had a clean record and a promising future. But within years, a series of events would transform it into a cautionary tale about political influence, corporate theft, and the environmental devastation that follows when the powerful are allowed to operate without oversight.
Angela List was no ordinary businesswoman. She was, by all accounts, a “Ghanaian heartthrob” beautiful, ambitious, and connected. She was also the estranged wife of the Australian owner of BCM International, the very company that had acquired Adamus Resources in 2017.
What followed was less a divorce and more a corporate coup.
Using her ties to the Akufo-Addo administration ties that ran deep into the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources Angela List orchestrated a hostile takeover of Adamus Resources. Her allies in government included Former Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, Asante Bediatuo, former President, Akufo Addo’s Executive Secretary and nephew, John Peter Amewu, then Minister of Lands, and Natural Resources, and later, his successor, Samuel Abu Jinapor.
Amewu, in particular, proved to be her knight in shining armour. Court documents and multiple sources describe a campaign of harassment against the then-ailing Paul List, Angela’s husband, that included the deployment of National Security operatives to his home. They broke in. They ransacked his belongings sometimes using the Feary SWAT Unit of the Ghana Police. And they made clear that Angela List had the full backing of the state.
With the government’s help, List seized control of the company. Adamus Resources became a subsidiary of her mining vehicle, Nguvu Mining, which was granted a staggering 90% interest in the company. The remaining 10% was taken by the Akufo-Addo government itself a direct state stake in a company that had been stolen from its rightful owners.
The High Court in Accra, recognizing the magnitude of the dispute, ordered the creation of a 5-member Interim Management Committee to oversee operations at the Nzema Gold Mine until the ownership suits could be resolved. But Angela List, undeterred by legal proceedings, simply ignored the IMC and ran the company as if she were its sole owner.
Under List’s management, Adamus Resources degenerated rapidly. The company that had once operated with corporate discipline became a front for illegal mining. Concessions were subcontracted to Chinese operators who engaged in full-scale galamsey digging, washing, and extracting gold without regard for the law or the environment.
The Minerals Commission eventually caught wind of the operation. Their investigation revealed a litany of violations: unauthorized subcontracting, environmental breaches, and mining outside permitted areas. In April 2026, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources revoked Adamus’ leases at Akango, Salman, and Info.
But even as the leases were being suspended, Angela List moved to protect her Chinese partners. When the illegal miners were arrested and placed in police custody, she personally procured their bail, ensuring they would face no consequences for their role in the destruction of Ghana’s environment.
Then, on April 30 just one day after the revocation she petitioned the Ministry for a review, claiming her company had done no wrong.
The Ministry, to its credit, did not simply accept List’s petition at face value. It established an independent Review Committee to assess her claims. That committee has since concluded its work and submitted a confidential report to the sector minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah.
It is as the Minister studies that report that the original Australian owners have chosen to break their silence.
In their letter to President Mahama, the owners of Adamus Resources PTY Limited make a series of striking admissions. They “had no involvement in, nor do we condone, any of the activities identified in the Minerals Commission’s report.” They are “fully aligned with the Government’s position that such conduct must be addressed decisively.” And they “stand ready to cooperate fully with any investigation or enforcement process.”
But the letter goes further. It is not merely an act of distancing; it is a plea for restoration.
“Your Excellency, we respectfully submit that the revocation of these licences should not result in the permanent loss of value from these assets to Ghana, nor to their rightful stakeholders,” the letter reads. “Rather, it presents an opportunity to restore the concessions to credible, compliant operators with a demonstrable track record.”
The Australians are formally requesting the opportunity to engage with the presidency and relevant ministries to present their position on ownership, demonstrate their operational capability, and “discuss a structured pathway for the reinstatement or reallocation of these assets to their rightful and responsible operators.”
The petition raises questions that extend far beyond the fate of one mining company.
How did a private citizen, no matter how well-connected, manage to seize a multimillion-dollar mining asset with the explicit assistance of government officials? What was the nature of the relationship between Angela List and John Peter Amewu, and later Samuel Abu Jinapor, that warranted the deployment of National Security operatives against a private individual? And how did the Akufo-Addo government justify the conduct of Angela List and her company, obtained through such dubious means?
The Minerals Commission’s report, which led to the lease revocations, identified “regulatory breaches, including environmental violations, and unauthorized subcontracting linked to illegal mining.” But it does not appear to have examined the circumstances under which List gained control of the company in the first place. If the leases were obtained through fraud and political manipulation, the case for restoration to the rightful owners is not merely a private matter it is a question of public justice.
Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah now holds the fate of Adamus Resources in his hands. The Review Committee’s report is on his desk. The Australian owners have made their case to the presidency. And Angela List continues to insist that her company is the victim of a misunderstanding.
But the evidence is damning. The Chinese miners were arrested. The environmental violations were documented. The subcontracting agreements were in clear breach of the law. And the ownership of the company itself remains the subject of litigation that has yet to be resolved.
The Minister’s decision will have implications beyond this single case. If he upholds the revocation and engages with the rightful owners, it will send a signal that Ghana is serious about accountability in the mining sector that political connections cannot insulate you from the consequences of illegal activity. If, on the other hand, he caves to pressure and restores the leases to Angela List, it will confirm the worst suspicions: that the system remains for sale to those with power and influence.
This is not merely a corporate dispute. It is a story about how state power can be weaponized to enrich a connected few at the expense of both the rule of law and the environment. The original Australian owners had built a legitimate business, compliant with Ghanaian law and respectful of its natural resources. Angela List, with the full backing of the Akufo-Addo administration, took it from them and turned it into a galamsey operation.
The Tano River still flows, but communities downstream have reported contamination. The forests around Akango have been scarred by illegal excavation. And the Chinese miners, arrested and bailed by List, have likely moved on to other concessions, continuing their destructive trade.
The Australians have done something unusual: they have publicly endorsed the government’s decision to revoke their own subsidiary’s leases. It is a testament to how far the company has fallen under List’s stewardship and a reminder that, in the battle against illegal mining, the line between victim and villain is sometimes blurred by the sheer audacity of the powerful.
President Mahama has an opportunity here. The Australian owners have offered their full cooperation. The Review Committee has submitted its findings. And the public is watching.
The decision, when it comes, will tell us whether Ghana is truly ready to hold the powerful accountable or whether, as in the past, the old adage still holds: the rich get richer, the connected stay free, and the rivers keep dying. by the thenewrepublicgh.com
