Ghana is to start producing battery mineral lithium for the first time.

The country’s Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has granted a mining lease for the Ewoyaa lithium project to mining group Piedmont and partner Atlantic Lithium for an initial 15 years, reports Mining Weekly.

The agreement must be ratified by Ghana’s parliament and approved by the Environmental Protection Agency before construction can begin sometime in 2024.

The lease follows a decision by the Minerals Income Investment Fund of Ghana to invest US$27.9 million to acquire a 6% stake in Ewoyaa and an additional US$5 million to be invested in Atlantic Lithium to aid the development of the project.

Ewoyaa, on Ghana’s Cape coast, is expected to provide most of the feedstock for the 30 000 t/year lithium hydroxide plant Piedmont is building in Tennessee, in the US.

31 October 2023
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