The President of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), Ben Nunoo Mensah, has said he was super excited when he discovered that his mining concession contained commercially-viable lithium properties.
Speaking on GhanaWeb TV’s The Lowdown, Nunoo Mensah, the 10 percent shareholder of Barari DV Ghana Ltd, a subsidiary of Atlantic Lithium Limited, shared his enthusiasm about the development.
"As the concession owner, obviously you would be super excited when you get geological reports that your concession has commercial quantities or has lithium deposits that are commercially-viable, and that is something you want to mine rather than gold. I acquired it in 2011 from gold mining. When geological reports came from the Minerals Commission, they said it was viable to mine lithium," he noted.
He stressed the need for lithium mining to be well-structured so that it can benefit Ghana as a whole.
"If we follow our existing mining laws, much of the excitement could turn to disappointment. Many gold mining communities in Ghana are still deprived because of these laws. Over the years, foreign companies have taken advantage of our resources without fair returns," he added.
Given the rising global demand for lithium, countries like Ghana that possess this resource stand to gain significantly from their socio-economic growth.
In September 2022, Atlantic Lithium completed a pre-feasibility study on the lithium spodumene pegmatite deposits in Ewoyaa, Kaampakrom, and Abonko in western Ghana.
A Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) followed, revealing that the Ewoyaa lithium project is estimated to contain about 25.6 million metric tons of probable ore grading approximately 1.22% lithium oxide.
In June 2023, the government signed a mining agreement with Barari DV Limited.
Production is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2024, with the first lithium concentrate anticipated by the second quarter of 2025.
The agreement grants Ghana a 10% royalty, a 13% free carried interest, and an additional 6% interest through potential investment by the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), totaling about 19% holding interest in the Ewoyaa Lithium project.
Moreover, Atlantic Lithium is required to contribute 1% of its revenue to a community development fund aimed at advancing local development in the mining communities.
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JKB/AE
