Akwaaba Mining Ltd has secured the continuity of its flagship asset in West Africa by obtaining the renewal of its prospecting license for the Kunsu gold project in Ghana through April 28, 2029, it emerged Wednesday. The permit, granted by Ghana’s Minerals Commission, marks the first major strategic move by the Canadian exploration company since the death of Canary Islands-based lawyer Heidy Arocha Rodríguez, a member of its board of directors and a key figure in the firm’s legal and institutional framework in the region, who died in 2026. The renewal of the permits had been a priority for Arocha until her death, which has received little attention in the islands’ financial circles.
A lawyer specializing in public and corporate law with more than 25 years of experience, Heidy Arocha Rodríguez had extensive expertise in managing permits for international mining projects. After serving as president of the Las Palmas Builders Association and heading the American Chamber of Commerce in the Canary Islands, she played a key role for seven years in the Legal and External Affairs division of Kinross Gold Corporation in Spain, Mauritania and Ghana itself.
Her first-hand knowledge of Ghana’s regulatory framework later enabled her to work as a consulting lawyer for companies such as Asante Gold Corporation and to join the boards of Black Dragon Gold Corp. — from which she resigned in September 2025 for personal reasons — and Akwaaba Mining. With the concession framework secured through 2029, Akwaaba’s technical management is preparing to mobilize equipment to deepen mechanical drilling at the Kunsu concession.
The three-year extension of the concession, which covers 141 square kilometers in the Asankragua Manso Nkwanta belt, one of the country’s largest exploration areas, gives the junior miner regulatory clearance to restart drilling campaigns amid record-high prices for the precious metal. The Kunsu property, located 35 kilometers from Kumasi and wholly owned by Akwaaba — subject to a 1.5% net smelter royalty payable to Wononuo Investment Limited — represents a bet on high-profile virgin deposits.
Approval from the authorities in Accra removes uncertainty surrounding the project at a sensitive moment for the company’s governance, following the loss of Arocha. DEP
The article Akwaaba Mining unlocks Ghana project championed by Heidy Arocha before her death was first published on canarymaritime.com.
