Samuel Jinapor
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has justified mining lease granted to Barari DV Limited, a subsidiary of Atlantic Lithium Limited for the exploitation of lithium, describing it as the best deal Ghana has ever negotiated for in any mineral contract in the history of the country.
The minister, who revealed this at the meet the press series yesterday in Accra following concerns by a section of the public over some aspects of the contract, said it remained the best agreement so far with the 19 per cent state participation, with a requirement to increase it to 30.
“It is the first time in the history of our country that, we have successfully negotiated for ten per cent (10%) royalties for any mineral, which is one of the highest for exploitation of any mineral across the globe.
“We have already secured a nineteen per cent (19%) state participation in this mining company, with the requirement to scale it up to a minimum of thirty per cent (30%) Ghanaian participation through listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange for shares to be made available to Ghanaians and Ghanaian entities,” he disclosed.
Among some of the reasons he explained for option for the lease contract between Ghana and Bavari DV include lack of geological information and data unlike bauxite where the deposits mineral resources and mine exist in addition to the relatively very small Ewoyaa deposits compared to the deposits in Zimbabwe, Mali, DRC and the Lithium Triangle that host about 70 per cent of the known lithium reserves in the world.
According to him, the lease which also differed from other mining lease granted for the exploitation of any mineral in Ghana since the country’s independence, aimed at ensuring that the mineral resources of the country were utilised for the benefit of Ghanaians, and contains provisions for the establishment of a refinery in Ghana.
He, however, said that calls for the establishment of a lithium company in Ghana to develop the value chain of mineral from lithium to battery production was not feasible, as it is working to ensure optimal benefit from the exploitation of the mineral.
He noted, “This is why, we have instituted in this transaction the retention of a significant part of the value chain which we work systematically to eventually construct the full value chain in the country.”
He maintained that the mining lease includes provisions for the establishment of a refinery and the provision of the by-products to local industries not to export lithium in its raw state, though a lithium company may not be established.
The minister also indicated that various stages of the agreement have been completed while it seeks cabinet approval among others for it to be laid before parliament for consideration and ratification in accordance with Article 268(1) of the Constitution and section 5(4) of Act 703.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah