Who owns Ghana's Lithium deposits?

My checks reveal that in one document from Atlantic Lithium Ltd, Ghana has “No Carry Interest or Ownership” in this strategic asset, besides a meagre 5% royalties, and a Joint Venture partner.

In another document from the same company, Ghana has 10% carry interest and 5% royalty. Which is which?

It appears, the previous government and especially, the Minerals Commission know about this empty deal. Information gleaned from Atlantic Lithium Ltd’s literature indicates that the “company acquired its tenement in 2016.” Atlantic Lithium: West Africa’s first lithium production on the horizon: Mining Review Africa, February 2, 2022.

- Mexico has declared its Lithium deposits as a “National Strategic Asset” and has decided “Not to Allow Private Investment” in its exploitation.

Quote: Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters in Mexico City on Wednesday. “Unlike silver and gold, lithium is a strategic mineral-like oil that belongs to the nation, lithium is too strategic for private investors…” Bloomberg News: February 2, 2022: Battery, Metals Intelligence-Latin America Lithium.

Why is Ghana’s Lithium not considered a National Strategic Asset and controlled by the nation, as Mexico has done? Granted that Ghana government does not have the funding to exploit the resources, why can’t the government find Ghanaians at home and abroad to form a consortium to exploit the resources?

Atlantic Lithium claims that the project is fully funded with US$103 million.

Is it not sad that Ghana couldn’t raise one half of the US$70million capital cost to have a meaningful stake in this project?

We have over the years given away our natural resources to foreign entities, who extract and take them away, while we lament that “Ye te sika so nso ekomde yen.”

- Why can’t we change the way we do things in this country?

Why do we always want foreigners to come and control our God -given natural resources, and we turn around to go cup- in- hand to beg for loans and grants?

- When are we going to control and exploit our own resources?

The government must answer these and the above questions for all Ghanaians to know the truth about Ghana’s Lithium Deposits.

1. Who owns the deposits?

2. What’s Ghana’s Carry Interest/ Equity? Why do our governments accept 10% carry interest in our OWN natural resources?

3. According to Atlantic Lithium Ltd, formerly IronRidge Resources Ltd, the company that we have given control of our lithium deposits, the ROYALTIES to Ghana government is a meagre 5%, and 1.5% to Local JV Partners.

4. Who are those Local JV Partners?

5. What is Ghana’s CARRY INTEREST in our lithium deposits? Ghana’s shareholding/ ownership.

6. Atlantic Lithium Ltd’s literature indicates that its US$70 million capital cost has” industry-leading Payback Period of <1”

7. According to Atlantic Lithium, the Life of mines (LOM) is between 11.4 years and 15 years. However, our government has given this company 10 years tax break. Why? How do you give a company whose Payback period is less than 1 year, 10 years tax holiday?

8. How is Ghana going to benefit from the lithium deposits?

9. Ghanaians need answers to these questions now before it’s too late.

Lithium has become one of the sort-after minerals, because of the growing Electric Vehicle market. Lithium is one of the most expensive minerals, used to make batteries, which is in high demand.

The Bolivian government cancelled a 3% royalties lithium deal with a German company, and demand 11% royalties. They have 51% ownership and 49% to a Chinese company to mine their lithium. Reuters, February 6, 2019: Bolivia Picks Chinese Partner for $2.3B Lithium Project: “ China’s Xinjiang TBEA Group Co Ltd will hold a 49% stake in a joint venture with Bolivia’s state lithium company YBL,” the Bolivian firm said.

When in opposition, the current President Nana Akufo Addo quipped that “Yete sika so nso ekomde yen.” To wit, “we are sitting on riches but we are hungry.” In 2018, Vice President Dr. Bawumia too lamented that Ghana’s 10% carry interest in the mining companies is, quote, “Useless,” because, for many years most of the mining companies have been declaring losses, thereby depriving the nation of its (paltry) 10% of their profits.

One would think that the government of these two gentlemen, would do something to change the scenario above.

The good people of Ghana need answers to why our governments and officials have given away our natural resources, while Mexico has declared her lithium as “Strategic national Asset and have barred private investors from exploiting the resource.

Sources: http//:www.atlanticlithium.com.au: https://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8028U_1-2021-12-7.pdf; Bloomberg News: February 2, 2022: Battery Metals Intelligence; Latin America; Reuters: February 6, 2019: battery Metals: China, Latin America: Rare EarthMining Review Africa: Atlantic Lithium: West Africa’s

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