The government of Ghana has issued a 15-year mining permit to Atlantic Lithium’s local subsidiary, Barari DV Ghana Limited. The permit will be used for the first country’s first lithium operation and the move aligns with Ghana’s strategy to participate in the growing global shift toward electric vehicles and renewable energy sources.
The dubbed Ewoyaa project is located in the Cape Coast region of Ghana, approximately 100 kilometers southwest of the capital city, Accra. The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has increased the royalty rate from the standard 5% to 10%. Additionally, the state’s interest in the project has been raised from 10% to 13%.
Minerals Income Investment Fund
Ghana’s sovereign wealth fund, Minerals Income Investment Fund(MIIF), will acquire a 6% stake in the Ewoyaa project and a 3.06% stake in Atlantic Lithium. Atlantic Lithium will also be required to list on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
Atlantic Lithium will work on developing a lithium processing plant in Ghana to maximize the economic benefit of the lithium resources, reducing the need to ship the mineral to China for processing. Half of the lithium produced at Ewoyaa will be sent to a refinery of US-based Piedmont Lithium, which is the second-largest shareholder of Atlantic Lithium and has agreed to provide most of the funds for building the mine. Atlantic Lithium aims to produce a total of 3.6 million tonnes of spodumene concentrate over 12 years from the Ewoyaa site. This would make it one of the world’s largest lithium projects.
