Outrage in Ghana as the country hands over Lithium discovery for cheap to Australian firm

Ghana lithium - Outrage in Ghana as the country hands over Lithium discovery for cheap to Australian firm - Several Ghanaians and Pan-African observers are calling on the Ghanaian parliament to refuse to ratify a lithium mining deal widely considered unfair, exploitative, and not in the best interest of Ghanaians. In October 2023, Ghana’s Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, signed the first-ever Lithium Lease Agreement deal with Barari DV Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of Australian mining firm Atlantic Lithium Limited, granting them a 15-year mining lease to commence the construction and mining of lithium at Ewoyaa in the Mfantseman Municipality of the Central Region of Ghana. The Ewoyaa lithium deposit is estimated to cover a 42.63 square kilometre area and hold a massive 25.6 million tonnes of lithium ore, containing approximately 0.31 million tonnes of lithium, making it a highly valuable resource for Ghana's economy and the global lithium market. This prospect is highly valued by Ghana as it seeks to play a role in producing a key ingredient in electric vehicle batteries, which are in high demand as countries look to phase out fossil-fuel vehicles
Atlantic Lithium Limited began lithium exploration at Ewoyaa in 2017 and discovered high grades of the mineral in commercial quantities. Under the country's mining laws, if a company conducts exploration and discovers minerals in commercial quantities, it is entitled to first refusal if it wants to mine the mineral and is entitled to a mining lease to that effect. Therefore, Ghana basically had no choice but to strike a deal with Atlantic Lithium. However, under this deal signed between the Ghanaian government and Atlantic Lithium Limited, the government of Ghana is getting just a 10% royalty and 13% free carried interest, although this surpasses the existing 5% and 10%, respectively, for other mining agreements. This implies that the government would own 13% of Lithium Atlantic. It would also acquire an additional 6% of the company's shares and 3.06 % of the holding company, both of which are listed on the Australian and London Stock Exchanges. This brings the total government stake in the local company to 19% and 3.06% in the foreign holding company. The royalty paid to the host communities has also been increased from the standard 5% to 10% and to create jobs within the value chain and the company must also process the mined mineral locally by adding value to it. Indeed, Atlantic Lithium is also expected to build a chemical plant at its operation site four months after signing the lease agreement with the Ghanaian government for value-addition purposes.
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