A new lithium project in Ghana, West Africa, is set to become the country’s first lithium-producing mine, according to Atlantic Lithium, the Australian company developing it. The Ewoyaa lithium project will exploit three spodumene pegmatite deposits with a total resource of 35.3 million tonnes at 1.25% lithium oxide. The project is expected to start production in the second quarter of 2025 and generate revenues of $6.6 billion over a 12-year mine life.
The project has recently received environmental approval from Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency to divert two transmission lines that run across the planned mining areas. The diversion of the lines, which will be carried out by the Ghana Grid Company, is an important step towards shovel readiness, Atlantic Lithium said.
The company also announced the completion of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the project in June 2023, which confirmed its economic viability and profitability potential. The DFS outlined a 2.7 million tonnes per annum spodumene mining operation with a capital cost of $185 million and a post-tax net present value of $1.5 billion. The project will produce a spodumene concentrate product suitable for conversion to be used in electric vehicle batteries and power storage.
The Ewoyaa lithium project is located in western Ghana, about 100 km south-west of the capital city Accra. The project benefits from excellent infrastructure, including grid power, sealed roads, and access to the Takoradi port. Atlantic Lithium has secured a 560 km2 land package through earn-in and application agreements.
The global demand for lithium is expected to soar over the next decade, driven by the electrification of mobility and the broader energy transition. According to McKinsey, the global lithium-ion battery market could grow by over 30% annually from 2022 to 2030, reaching a value of more than $400 billion and a market size of 4.7 TWh.
Atlantic Lithium has also entered into a funding agreement with Piedmont Lithium, a US-based lithium company, to advance the Ewoyaa project towards construction. Piedmont will invest up to $91 million in Atlantic Lithium in exchange for up to 50% of its Ghanaian portfolio.
Atlantic Lithium’s CEO Keith Muller said: “At Ewoyaa, we consider ourselves exceptionally fortunate to be able to leverage Ghana’s impressive existing infrastructure and the considerable expertise from over a century of mining activity in the country. We believe these elements play a major role in positioning the project as one of the leading hard rock spodumene assets globally.”
Source: Mining Weekly
