Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
Atlantic Lithium (AIM: ALL, ASX: A11) has become the first near-term lithium producer to be listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange after obtaining approvals from both the GSE’s listing committee and Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company is currently advancing its flagship lithium project, Ewoyaa, a hard rock spodumene deposit located in Ghana’s Central Region, towards production as the African nation’s first lithium mine.
According to the June 2023 definitive feasibility study for the project, Ewoyaa is expected to produce a steady state of 365,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per annum, making it one of the largest spodumene mines in the world.
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 provide most of the funds for building the mine.
In October 2023, Atlantic Lithium announced that Ghana’s Minister of Lands and Natural Resources had granted a mining lease for the project, comprising the proposed Ewoyaa lithium mine and processing plant.
The company currently awaits parliamentary ratification of the mining lease and has said that it is advancing the necessary permitting steps, with the intention of breaking ground at Ewoyaa in the second half of 2024.
The project is set to achieve nameplate capacity in 2026.
Shares of Atlantic Lithium rose 3.4% by 3 p.m. BST. The lithium developer has a market capitalization of £$134 million ($167 million).
