Ghana's First Lithium Mine To Be Completed In 2024, Production To Start In 2025

• An international mining firm, Atlantic Lithium, is gearing up to set up in Ghana by Third Quarter of 2024
• The mining firm has said production will start in 2025 and expects at least 365,000 tonnes of production per year
• Atlantic Lithium's Ewoyaa project in the Central Region is expected to produce the silvery, soft metal for at least 12 years

Ghana will add lithium to the precious minerals it produces from 2025 but the mines and key infrastructure should be ready by Q3 2024, Atlantic Lithium has disclosed.

The mining firm's Ewoyaa project located in Mankesim in the Central Region will be Ghana's first lithium mine and is being advanced under an agreement with another mining firm, Piedmont Lithium.

Executive chairman of Atlantic Lithium, Neil Herbert, recently disclosed that feasibility studies have established that there would be 3.6Mt of concentrate production over a 12-year mine life, delivering $6.6 billion life of mine revenues.

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"We completed [feasibility studies] at the end of June so we have a project that will end up producing 365,000 tonnes of lithium per annum. We will be completing the first stage of licensing we expect in the next few weeks, which is the issue of the mining lease, following which we expect to go through the remaining stages to break ground on the project next September, with production slated for the second quarter of 2025, with full production for the year ’26," Herbert told Kitco, a mining-focused online portal.

With the creeping dominance of electric vehicles and the push for energy transition, Lithium is constantly becoming a precious commodity. The mineral is an important component in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries that run electric vehicles.

Experts say the soft, silvery metal gives batteries more life and allows them to hold longer charge.

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Herbert explained that Piedmont is a key partner in the Ghana project.

Ghana discovers lithium

Ghana discovered lithium deposits in the Ashanti, Western and Volta Regions in large quantities in 2022.

The Mineral Commission said at the time that the government was in the process of starting commercial exploration.

Bawumia discloses government's policy of using electric vehicles for public transport

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported that Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said Ghana will soon be the pacesetter in Africa in the use of electric vehicles for public transport services.

He said the move would significantly reduce the cost of transportation as the major component of the cost, fuel, would be minimised.

He made the comments when he visited Solar Taxi, a Ghanaian company that assembles electric vehicles.

Source: YEN.com.gh