The Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) of Ghana announces that the Fund has started negotiations on plans to invest up to $30 million in Atlantic Lithium Ltd, an Australian exploration and mining firm listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).
Atlantic Lithium has discovered lithium in commercial quantities in Ghana and is on track to become West Africa’s first producing mine. The Ewoyaa discovery in the Central region has a significant amount of lithium spodumene located on the Cape Coast lithium belt. The company last week announced an upgrade on their Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE” or the “Resource”) to 35.3Mt at 1.25% Li2O for the Ewoyaa Project. With current developments in the Lithium industry, the mineral resource has an indicated life mine of revenues exceeding $4.8 billion.
MIIF plans to take up an equity stake in the fully funded African-focused company which has a 50% offtake agreement from Piedmont Lithium, a United States-based developer of lithium resources for Ghana-produced lithium. Piedmont Lithium also has a 50% offtake agreement with Tesla Inc., an American multinational automotive, artificial intelligence, and clean energy company which owns Tesla Motors.
The MIIF Lithium Plan
The Chief Executive Officer of MIIF, Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng said, “Investing in Atlantic Lithium speaks to President Nana Akufo Addo’s vision of ensuring that mining provides sustainable long-term value for Ghanaians. This vision finds meaning in MIIF’s mandate and the plan to invest in the lithium resource and the entire value chain. We are not only interested in developing the mineral resource but to invest in the value chain. Our strategic focus is to support the development of lithium processing, development of battery manufacturing and additional inputs and the preparedness to support an electronic vehicle (EV) market in Ghana to serve the sub-region.”.
According to Mr. Koranteng, “Electric vehicles represent a US$7 trillion market opportunity between 2023 and 2030 and US$46 trillion between 2023 and 2050. This represents opportunities for Ghana that can be leveraged by the current automobile development plan that has seen six car assembly plants already established in Ghana. The by-products of lithium such as feldspar also provide a new stratum of opportunity. Feldspar is the main mineral resource needed to produce ceramics and MIIF is positioned to support the development of the use of the feldspar”. “MIIF’s strategy is to not only be active in the lithium value chain but to help develop the capital markets. In this vein, an initial condition of Atlantic Lithium listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange has been accepted by the company. This will give all Ghanaians the chance to acquire shares in the resource. We are excited that Ghana can play in the green energy boom which is crucial for the decarbonization efforts of the country.” Koranteng said.
About the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF)
MIIF is a sovereign minerals fund mandated by the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act 2018, (Act 978) as amended, to maximize the value of dividend and royalties income accruing to the Republic of Ghana in a beneficial, accountable and sustainable manner and to monetize Ghana’s mineral wealth in a manner which would bring long term value to Ghana.
By: Kofi Gyekye Tuffour
