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Ghana’s state-owned investment fund has secured a 3% stake in Australia’s Atlantic Lithium (ASX: A11), which is building the Ewoyaa lithium project in the West African country, set to be the nation’s first battery metal mine.
The move is part of Ghana’s Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF)’s total $32.9 million allocated to support the project development all the way to production.
MIIF move also grants it a 6% in Ewoyaa, which is slated to produce an annual average of 3.6 million tonnes of spodumene concentrate, or 350,000 tonnes, over its 12-year mine life. That would make it the world’s 10th-biggest project, according to Atlantic Lithium.
“Our strategy is to invest across the entire mining value chain of every mineral, with lithium not being an exception,” the MIIF chief executive, Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, said. “[We are] prepared to invest in line with the Government of Ghana’s energy transition plan, including becoming the EV hub for Africa”
The company, which was granted a 15-year permit in October, will now apply to list its shares on both the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
Atlantic Lithium said it expected its admission to the AIM, LSE’s market for small and medium size growth companies, will become effective on Jan. 30.
Funds from the MIIF will also be use to develop the company’s broader Cape Coast lithium portfolio in Ghana, it said.
The strategic investment is expected to enhance Atlantic Lithium’s cash balance as its reduces its share of the total $185 million development expenditure.
Half of the lithium produced at Ewoyaa will be sent to a refinery of US-based Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ, ASX: PLL), which is the Australian firm’s second-largest shareholder and has agreed to also provide financial aid for building the mine.
