Lithium Deal: Why Ghana deserves a better deal out of mineral agreement - Bright Simons explains

Bright Simons, the Vice President of Imani Africa, has outlined the reasons for which he believes Ghana deserves a more favourable deal in the mineral agreement with Barari DV Ghana Limited for lithium extraction.

The vice president of the policy think tank emphasised the need for a reassessment of the current 10% royalty negotiation, urging the government to secure more beneficial terms for the country.

Presently, there is a collective call from experts and other stakeholders for the government to reconsider the 10% in royalty negotiation it has entered with Barari DV Ghana Limited.

These individuals and institutions include the former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo; the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), and others, who have insisted that the deal was poorly negotiated and that Ghana could have gained more in terms of return benefits.

In the face of all these concerns, the government maintains that the deal in its current form is the best for Ghana.

Bright Simons, speaking on Accra-based Joy News on Thursday, December 14, 2025, explained that Ghana has been good to Atlantic Lithium, the holding firm for Barari DV Ghana Limited.

He noted that Ghana's generosity in expediting the process should be recognized as a benefit which should translate into revenue.

“Remember that we are getting a sovereign share where we don’t pay anything, we just get it. Then we are also trying to invest money into the company to get more, but that is a commercial return. It is important that we bare in mind that just as the company was very concessional when dealing with Piedmont, the off taker who will be buying about 50 % of the mins from Barari DV, just as it was very strategic in terms of the share evaluation for them, we have also done great things for the company.

“This company, at the time it came to Ghana went to the Ivory Coast and made similar applications to what they made here. For us in Ghana, we have taken them all the way to a mining lease in record time. In many places, the Piedmont has its application blocked in places like North Carolina because of complaints of pollution. So, we have been very generous in expediting this whole process for them and these are all benefits. Because there is a time value of money,” he said.

Explaining further, Bright Simons mentioned that other countries might have insisted on using the latest technology upfront, unlike Ghana, which has been flexible in allowing the mining company to defer certain investments until a later stage.

“With the bulk power agreement that they are trying to acquire, when it comes to the dense media separation and then do flotation later. This means that they are spending far less to get going and some of the valuable investment that would have made people who are working in that company get more skills, they are deferring it until they can do about 2.5 million tons. Other countries would have insisted they use the latest technology in the mines from the upfront until they do the construction permits.

“We want you to make the synthetic liner in all the ponds before we give you the environmental permits, we are not insisting on all of these things. So, these are amazing concessions and they should look at that and do a similar deal with us like they did with Piedmont, where the variation is not as high as we are charging,” he explained.

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