Ghana’s ambitious bid to enter the global lithium market has hit a critical crossroads, with the Ewoyaa Lithium Project now facing a double crisis: nearly two years of parliamentary delays compounded by a catastrophic collapse in global lithium prices that threatens the project’s economic viability.
What was celebrated in October 2023 as a landmark agreement has devolved into a complex standoff involving Atlantic Lithium’s plea for fiscal concessions, civil society demands for greater transparency, and a government caught between protecting national interests and salvaging what could be the country’s entry into the electric vehicle supply chain.
The Australian mining company Atlantic Lithium, through its Ghanaian subsidiary Barari DV, secured a 15 year mining lease for the Ewoyaa deposit in the Central Region amid considerable fanfare. The project promised to transform Ghana into a major lithium producer, with estimated annual output of 360,000 tons of spodumene concentrate that would position it among the world’s top 10 producers.
Yet today, the mine remains unbuilt, parliamentary ratification remains pending, and Atlantic Lithium has dramatically scaled back operations, laying off approximately 75 employees since October 2024. The company now warns the project cannot proceed without urgent fiscal relief from the Ghanaian government.
Lithium prices have tumbled more than 80% from peaks seen in November 2022, as a supply glut coincided with slower than expected electric vehicle adoption rates globally. The battery metal that once traded at approximately $80,000 per ton in 2022 now hovers around $15,000 per ton, fundamentally altering the economics that underpinned the original feasibility study.
Ahmed Salim Adam, general manager of Atlantic Lithium, explained the stark reality facing the project in April 2025. “We’ve done the maths, and it makes no sense at all,” he said, adding that the company has written to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources for urgent assistance on fiscals. “If not, this project will not proceed.”
The company is seeking several fiscal adjustments to restore project viability. These include reducing royalty rates from 10% to 5%, matching Ghana’s gold mining sector, or implementing a sliding scale tied to lithium prices, along with revisions to the 32.5% corporate income tax rate and removal of import duties on capital equipment.
However, Adam emphasized that fiscal concessions alone won’t suffice. He said while parliamentary ratification remains critical, construction cannot begin without addressing the fiscal framework. “Even if we get ratification done, we can’t get it off the ground,” Adam concluded.
The fiscal renegotiation has drawn sharp scrutiny from civil society organizations and policy analysts who question whether Atlantic Lithium’s claims about project viability hold up under independent analysis.
The Natural Resource Governance Institute published a detailed assessment in June 2025 challenging the company’s economic projections. Atlantic now claims its estimated post tax internal rate of return has fallen to just 13.6 percent, down from a previously projected 94 percent before debt financing.
But NRGI’s independent modeling suggests a different picture. Their analysis indicates that even if prices stay at $785 per ton for the lifetime of the Ewoyaa project, the IRR would be around 25 percent before debt financing and 28 percent after debt financing, close to the 30 percent Atlantic says it needs to secure investment.
Emmanuel Gyeyir, senior economic governance officer at NRGI, has called for greater transparency. He noted that Atlantic Lithium must clarify how it arrived at its new post tax internal rate of return estimate of 13.6 percent and justify any adjustments it made to its assumptions. “Not doing so risks undermining public trust and its social license to operate, storing up trouble for the project later,” Mr Gyeyir said.
The parliamentary delay predates the price collapse and reflects deeper tensions about the deal’s terms. Ghana’s Constitution requires Parliament to ratify all major mining leases, providing a check on executive power in resource negotiations.
“This ratification process has been delayed as a result of 2024 having been an election year in Ghana,” says Neil Herbert, executive chairman of Atlantic Lithium. “Parliament barely sat last year and, as a result, we are still awaiting ratification.”
But the delay also stems from substantive concerns raised by opposition lawmakers and civil society about whether Ghana secured adequate benefits from the agreement. The then minority in Ghana’s Parliament, the NDC, raised issues about the terms being granted to Barari and called for a thorough scrutiny before Parliament ratifies the deal. Specifically, they expressed concerns about the lack of engagement with local communities and the 10 percent fixed royalty payment.
The opposition has demanded amendments allowing Ghana to receive additional tax payments when Atlantic Lithium experiences windfall profits, beyond the agreed 10% royalty. Some civil society groups have gone further, calling the deal “colonial type” and arguing Ghana should adopt a joint venture model similar to major lithium producers in Latin America.
In July 2025, Lands Minister Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah disclosed that government was reviewing the lease agreement to address volatility in global lithium prices. He emphasized that revised terms would protect national interests while ensuring project feasibility under unstable conditions. The review would also address concerns from Parliament’s Select Committee on Lands and Natural Resources, civil society groups, and host communities regarding transparency, equity, and Ghana’s share of mineral benefits.
Since that announcement, however, public updates have ceased, leaving stakeholders uncertain about the project’s status and timeline.
Local communities near the Ewoyaa site, particularly in Mankessim, Abura, and Ewoyaa itself, initially greeted the project with enthusiasm. The feasibility study projected approximately 900 jobs at full production, representing a significant economic boost for an area with limited formal employment opportunities.
Some community members had already been engaged by Atlantic Lithium for preliminary work, only to be sent home as the project stalled. The impact extends beyond immediate employment. Revised terms enabling project development would unlock substantial community benefits, including approximately $2 million annually in community development funds as outlined in draft agreements. These resources would support infrastructure improvements, educational initiatives, and healthcare facilities in project affected communities.
The mining lease includes a Community Development Fund allocating 1% of annual revenues toward local projects, a provision that remains unrealized while the project sits in limbo.
Dr. Frank Boateng, acting director for the Institute of Mineral Resource Investment and Governance at the University of Mines and Technology, warns that the prolonged uncertainty threatens Ghana’s reputation as a mining investment destination.
“People know Ghana as a home for minerals and as a country open to foreign direct investment,” he said in an interview. “Investors have always had cordial relationships with government and state institutions. This has built our credibility as a country and made us an important destination for foreign investment, especially in the extractive sector. But situations like this make it very difficult. It is not a good sign at all.”
The delay carries immediate economic consequences beyond the Ewoyaa project itself. Mining consultant Ing. Wisdom Edem Gomashie emphasized that if the lease had been ratified as originally scheduled in July 2024, construction would already be generating economic activity.
“Mine development means spending, from site preparation to infrastructure setup. That money circulates in the local economy through taxes, wages, and purchases,” he noted. “Now, because of the delay, those benefits are frozen.”
The Minerals Income Investment Fund has already invested $5 million in Atlantic Lithium shares, with plans for an additional $27.9 million project level investment to acquire 6% equity. Atlantic Lithium said it has spent $70 million since 2016 but was now facing “significant challenges” that risk stalling the project.
Gomashie cautioned that recent fiscal measures transferring about 80% of MIIF’s funds to the Consolidated Fund could jeopardize its ability to meet financial commitments to the project. “If MIIF’s capital is capped or redirected, it could affect the state’s participation in Atlantic Lithium,” he explained. “That’s public money locked up, and if the project doesn’t move, those investments remain idle.”
The unresolved status of Ghana’s lithium ambitions stands in stark contrast to developments elsewhere in Africa. Competing projects like Mali’s Goulamina and Ivory Coast’s Birimian lithium developments would likely capture market share and establish regional leadership if delays to Ewoyaa continue.
Zimbabwe has already begun lithium production at multiple sites, while Namibia is advancing several projects. These countries are moving to capture market share in what industry analysts expect will be a massive expansion of demand as the global economy transitions toward electrification.
The International Energy Agency projects lithium demand will increase thirteenfold by 2040, driven primarily by battery production for electric vehicles and energy storage systems. Ghana risks missing this window entirely if the Ewoyaa impasse continues.
Atlantic Lithium maintains that collaboration between the company and government can resolve the current challenges. Executive Chairman Neil Herbert stated that despite market headwinds, “through collaboration and prudent fiscal measures, we can advance Ewoyaa to production and deliver lasting value for all stakeholders.”
The company has emphasized its partnership approach with both the Ghanaian government and local communities, pointing to strong community support for the project. Herbert said, “With all of the approvals required for the construction of the Ewoyaa Lithium Project now secured, Atlantic Lithium is particularly well situated for a lithium price recovery.”
Atlantic secured its Mine Operating Permit in October 2024, the final regulatory approval needed before construction. It also obtained a Water Use Permit from the Water Resources Commission and secured funding commitments from partners including Piedmont Lithium, which holds rights to purchase 50% of the mine’s output.
However, market analysts remain cautious about near term price recovery. Supply growth has dramatically outpaced demand, with global production expanding by approximately 35% year over year in 2024. Major producers in Australia and South America rapidly scaled operations during the price boom, creating significant oversupply conditions that continue to weigh on the market.
For Ghana, the Ewoyaa situation represents more than just one stalled mining project. It’s a test case for the country’s 2023 Green Minerals Policy, which aimed to capture greater value from critical minerals through higher royalties, increased state participation, and local value addition requirements.
The policy mandated that mining companies list shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange and explore local refining options. Atlantic Lithium committed to conducting a scoping study on establishing a lithium refinery in Ghana, though critics argue this commitment lacks sufficient detail to ensure actual investment.
Civil society organizations have consistently pushed for stronger value addition provisions. IMANI Africa and other groups want the deal to clarify what is expected of Atlantic Lithium in terms of value addition to the lithium spodumene, arguing that “refining” should be defined clearly so the public will know what end products or intermediaries are in line with the country’s value addition strategy.
The concern centers on whether Ghana will simply export raw spodumene concentrate at 6% lithium oxide content, or whether the country can capture more value by processing to higher grade products like lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate used directly in battery manufacturing.
As Parliament’s next sitting approaches, the question remains whether lawmakers will ratify the original agreement, demand further renegotiation, or allow negotiations over fiscal concessions to drag on indefinitely.
Dr. Boateng emphasized the urgency of resolution. “We must not allow political cycles to distort investor confidence,” he cautioned. “The world is watching. Countries like Mali, Namibia and Zimbabwe are moving faster with lithium development. Ghana cannot afford to fall behind.”
Ing. Gomashie concluded with a blunt assessment: “No matter how we look at it, this is currently Ghana’s best mining deal. Delaying it any further doesn’t make it better. It only makes it costlier.”
The outcome will determine not only whether Ghana succeeds in entering the lithium market but also whether the country can balance protecting national interests with creating conditions where mining investments actually materialize into operating mines rather than extended negotiations that outlast market opportunities.
For the communities around Ewoyaa, for Atlantic Lithium’s investors, and for Ghana’s broader aspirations in the clean energy transition, the clock continues ticking while the mine remains unbuilt and the questions unresolved.