Lithium Mining Deals: How do you expect higher percentage in profit without any investments? - Kwame Jantuah

Private legal practitioner, Kwame Jantuah, has raised concerns over the recently signed lithium mining deal between the Ghanaian government and Barari DV Ghana Limited.

According to him, Ghanaians cannot expect a higher percentage in profit because the government has not invested in any way when it comes to the mining cost of the mineral, lithium.

He argued that Ghana has missed the opportunity to get a higher profit because there is no local capacity to also tap into lithium mining.

The government, in a bid to tap into the vast lithium deposits in Ewoyaa, Central Region, signed a deal with Barari DV Ghana Limited to explore and mine lithium in Ghana.

However, this agreement has faced backlash from various stakeholders, including former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, who argued that the negotiation was poorly conducted, leaving Ghana with only a 10% share of the profits.

Even though the government gave various justifications and defended the deal, Kwame Jantuah, in an interview with TV3 on December 8, 2023, emphasised the need for the government to be intentional in understanding the country's mineral resources and developing local expertise.

According to Jantuah, understanding the types of minerals in the country and intentionally partnering with capable companies would have positioned Ghana for a better deal.

“Before we discovered that product, we knew we had it, because we had the deposit of it. To benefit more, we can do this the Saudis way; we hire the companies to do the work for us. And if we were to get our finances right, we would go out and find the money to hire these people to mine our lithium for us, but did we do that?

“In 2015, before this, I mentioned that we need to build our local capacity. So, for nothing at all, we need to have an idea of the kinds of minerals we have in this country then we can start building that local capacity. Then, we are intentional with the companies that we feel that they have the worth to mine some of our minerals, we didn't do that as well.

"So, how do you expect that when somebody is bringing in over a billion dollars to invest and you will get a higher percentage. Your hands are already tied before they even come in. You are not even sharing the cost of mining with them,” he said.

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