To ratify or not to ratify the Lithium agreement, the call for maximum caution

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• Kwame Peter 1 month ago

  Will some calamity befall Ghana if the lithium is not mined? Why are our ‘leaders’ in such a frenzy to take whatever minerals we have quickly quickly and squander the money,what will our descendants live on? Dr Aubyn answ ...
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  Will some calamity befall Ghana if the lithium is not mined? Why are our ‘leaders’ in such a frenzy to take whatever minerals we have quickly quickly and squander the money,what will our descendants live on? Dr Aubyn answer me.

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• TRUTH 1 month ago

  The pressure to give away this lithium asset is coming from the so called CUSTODIANS OF THE LAND, the chiefs.
  
  I wait to hear them crying for jobs and land in a few years like the Gas. At least, with the Gas, the colonial ...
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  The pressure to give away this lithium asset is coming from the so called CUSTODIANS OF THE LAND, the chiefs.
  
  I wait to hear them crying for jobs and land in a few years like the Gas. At least, with the Gas, the colonial regime forced them to give away their lands.
  
  What stops us building a battery factory and mining these lithium ourselves????
  
  The level of mental slavery among our people is distressing and shameful.
  
  And as you mentioned, it seems we are in a death spin to destroy everything including the future of our descendents.

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• Hmmm moment 1 month ago

  Ghana accepting 5% royalty on its lithium looks like a bad deal. The original 10% was cut because lithium prices fell — but that only shifts the entire risk onto Ghana while the company is protected. When prices rise again, ...
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  Ghana accepting 5% royalty on its lithium looks like a bad deal. The original 10% was cut because lithium prices fell — but that only shifts the entire risk onto Ghana while the company is protected. When prices rise again, Ghana will still be stuck at 5%.
  
  A better option is a sliding-scale royalty that goes up when the market recovers.
  
  And honestly, if Ghana borrowed money, bought the equipment, and hired competent consultants to run the mine, the country could likely earn far more than 5% — instead of handing the upside to foreign companies while we take all the risk.
  
  Ghana deserves better than a bargain-basement deal for a strategic mineral.

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• TRUTH 1 month ago

  He will not answer. His long article is littered with double standards but the aim is to suggest a negotiable deal for his foreign friends.
  
  This is going to happen because they have eaten into the heads of the people and ...
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  He will not answer. His long article is littered with double standards but the aim is to suggest a negotiable deal for his foreign friends.
  
  This is going to happen because they have eaten into the heads of the people and their chiefs and the willing politicians only see votes, free lands and pecks downstream.

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• Kweku Soofi 1 month ago

  Why are our politicians greedy and short-sighted. The mineral will not deteriorate in the ground if it is not mined in some years to come. If the investors are now recommending a paltry 5% royalty now in view of collapsing ma ...
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  Why are our politicians greedy and short-sighted. The mineral will not deteriorate in the ground if it is not mined in some years to come. If the investors are now recommending a paltry 5% royalty now in view of collapsing market prices.
  
  Commodity prices are not permanently stable, it fluctuates with world events and economic activities and since Lithium - new mineral was discovered - why can't our politicians instead of selling the nation's asset for a pittance rather than prepare the nation to be a exploiter of its new resources or major shareholder in its exploration of its natural resources instead of a receiver of slave shareholding.

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• Kaklo 1 month ago

  Can't we leave something for our children
  Do we have mine everything in our generation
  All the resources that we have what has changed

  Can't we leave something for our children
  Do we have mine everything in our generation
  All the resources that we have what has changed

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• JB 4 weeks ago

  That's brilliant. I suggest Ghana goes with this suggestion.

  That's brilliant. I suggest Ghana goes with this suggestion.

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• PROF INKHEART 4 weeks ago

  I concur with most of the points made by the author in this article.
  However, he did not explain some of the subtle politics involved in this Ewoyaa lithium project matter. The fact is that company has discovered far more ex ...
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  I concur with most of the points made by the author in this article.
  However, he did not explain some of the subtle politics involved in this Ewoyaa lithium project matter. The fact is that company has discovered far more extensive deposits of lithium in Ivory Coast, only some 15 km away from Abidjan Port. The company has already laid off 170 of its workers at Ewoyaa. They will be re-employed only when the company achieves the 5% deal it wants. In other words, the company is coming from a position of strength.

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• PATAPAA MAN 4 weeks ago

  What place of strength?
  
  Why employ when you have no authorization from Parliament to operate.
  
  We are in no competition with Ivory Coast.
  
  You can clear off to that country.

  What place of strength?
  
  Why employ when you have no authorization from Parliament to operate.
  
  We are in no competition with Ivory Coast.
  
  You can clear off to that country.

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• JJ 4 weeks ago

  When he says Ghana he means the corrruot elit. The give our minerals away to foregners and take 10 percent- the 10 percent of which they steal and give the nation around 2 percent. This is Ghana for you-Daft leader-Daft popul ...
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  When he says Ghana he means the corrruot elit. The give our minerals away to foregners and take 10 percent- the 10 percent of which they steal and give the nation around 2 percent. This is Ghana for you-Daft leader-Daft population

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• Walter-Rodney Nagumo 4 weeks ago

  I support the sliding-scale approach, but it must be backed by far stronger institutional oversight and accountability. Some miners claim they are still prospecting, with no active production, as a way to avoid paying what th ...
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  I support the sliding-scale approach, but it must be backed by far stronger institutional oversight and accountability. Some miners claim they are still prospecting, with no active production, as a way to avoid paying what they owe. The UK and the EU have already introduced legislation requiring a 100% cut in CO₂ emissions from all new cars and vans by 2035. This clearly signals a strong future demand for our lithium.
  Better to go back to the market for new investors and better deal

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• Kofi Asamoah, Snr 3 weeks ago

  Isn't it interesting that the mining company wants the royalty reduced because of market prices of lithium? Gold prices have been going through the roof for some time, has any gold mining company in Ghana come out to say the ...
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  Isn't it interesting that the mining company wants the royalty reduced because of market prices of lithium? Gold prices have been going through the roof for some time, has any gold mining company in Ghana come out to say the gov't should increase the paltry 5% royalties they're paying? Or has the gov't demanded an increase of the royalties that they're supposed to pay, because of high price of gold? If the gov't were to try to vary the mining agreements, the gold mining companies would cite " the stability clause" in their mining agreements.
  
  This same lithium company has indicated that the payback time for their investment in the mines is 17 months, less than 2yrs; meaning they will recoup their initial investment in less than two years. However, after recouping their investment, Ghana's carry interest of 15% or so, remains the same. These mining companies have taken Ghana for granted.
  
  My suggestion: If one were to go by Dr Aubyn's suggestion of the sliding scale and value addition, the agreement should be restructured to increase Ghana's carry interest or ownership from the current 13 or 15% to at the very least 40% ownership, after the mining company has recouped its initial investment.
  
  Ghana must fully benefit from our lithium deposits or leave the resource in the ground, until a better deal is made. Mexico has nationalised its lithium, Chile and others have signed agreements that benefit their nations. Ghana must do same. Enough of giving away our natural resources.

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