Policy analyst Bright Simons
Policy analyst Bright Simons has questioned the rationale behind the government’s decision to amend the lease terms for Ghana’s first lithium mine, located at Ewoyaa in the Central Region.
The project, operated by Atlantic Lithium, had previously sparked public backlash after critics described the original agreement as overly generous to the company and not sufficiently beneficial to Ghana.
Under the initial deal, Ghana was to receive a 10% royalty and a 13% carried interest (equity) in the project. However, Simons mentioned that Atlantic is now reportedly lobbying to reduce the royalty to 5%, slash corporate taxes, and eliminate or significantly reduce other levies, prompting renewed concerns about the government’s management of the country’s critical mineral resources.
In response to the development, Bright Simons, in a social media post on July 18, 2025, questioned the logic behind the proposed changes.
“If 10% royalty and standard taxes were labelled ‘colonial’ by critics last year, what would 5% and tax waivers be called, economic treason?” he asked.
Simons also contested the narrative that Atlantic is citing a drop in global lithium prices to justify its request for revised terms, pointing instead to pricing data and operational delays that began before the current market downturn.
“They claim price drops have forced a pause, but I visited the mine last year and local residents said the site had already been inactive. The problems go beyond prices, they’re facing funding delays from their main partner, Piedmont, and struggling to secure off-taker contracts,” Simons explained.
He also highlighted market data that supports his skepticism.
He mentioned that while the price of spodumene concentrate, the lithium-bearing ore Atlantic plans to export, has dropped to $711 from previous highs, it remains comparable to levels recorded when the company was actively lobbying for parliamentary ratification of its lease last year.
“There’s been virtually no significant change in the pricing landscape from August 2024 to now. So why the sudden rush to lower Ghana’s share?” Simons asked.
“If Parliament had approved the lease last November when the price was $771, the mine still wouldn’t have been built,” the policy analyst said.
Bright Simons further raised concerns about the lack of transparency in the decision-making process and called on the government to publish the Mines Minister’s advisory memo to Cabinet.
“The government must come clean. Let’s have a public debate on the new proposed terms,” he urged.
He also pushed for the release of the draft Green Minerals Law and the long-promised Green Minerals Policy, which were reported to be in the works under the previous administration, to guide strategic decisions on the exploitation of critical resources like lithium.
“The conversation should be about refining capacity too. While spodumene prices may stay flat due to Chinese oversupply, lithium hydroxide, a refined salt, could see a 102% price increase by 2028. We should be planning around value addition,” Simons said.
MA