The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, has insisted that the lithium deal his ministry has signed with Barari DV Ltd is one of the best to have happened in the mining industry in Ghana.
According to him, contrary to public perception, Ghana has not been short changed, so far as the contract was concerned. He is, therefore, happy that Ghanaians have taken key interest in scrutinising the deal to know the truth.
Minister Jinapor, who was speaking at a news conference organised by the Ministry of Information in Accra yesterday was, however, not happy that critics are still ignoring all the explanations he had previously given, including information on the website of the Minerals Commission.
They seem to be creating the impression that the government has signed a bad contract, when the opposite is the case.
According to him, per the contract, Ghana would not export lithium in its raw state. The minister explained that it is as a result of this that the Mining Lease includes provisions for the establishment of a refinery and the provision of the by-products to local industries.
The historical lack of resources to undertake exploration, Mr. Jinapor noted, meant Ghana has to depend on private companies to undertake exploration for most of the minerals, which then entitles them to the grant of mining leases, without going through any tender process.
He disclosed that there have also been calls for the establishment of a Ghana Lithium Company to undertake lithium mining and develop the value chain of the mineral from lithium mining to battery production.
“It will be recalled that the Policy Statement presented to Parliament last year considered the option of establishing such an entity, along the concept of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) and the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation (GIISDEC).
“However, the volumes of the mineral we have currently, and our quest to ensure optimal benefit from the exploitation of this mineral made that option not feasible for several reasons”, he added.
He noted that government have instituted in this transaction the retention of a significant part of the value chain which they work systematically to eventually construct the full value chain in country.
On Thursday, 19th October, 2023, the Minister signed, on behalf of The President of the Republic, the first mining lease for the exploitation of lithium in our country.
This followed Cabinet’s approval of a policy for the exploitation and management of green minerals in the country, and extensive negotiations, spanning several months between Government and Barari DV Ltd, a subsidiary of Atlantic Lithium Ltd, which President Akufo-Addo had to, on some occasions, personally intervene.
On some controversies that had to do with Barari DV Ltd, Mr. Jinapor declared that the company granted the mining lease for the exploitation of lithium inEwoyaa has been undertaking exploration for almost a decade in the Central Region, from when they were first granted a reconnaissance licence in August 2012 and converted to a prospecting licence in March 2018 for three (3) years and renewed for three (3) years in July 2021.
He continued that, “when they reported commercial find of lithium, government took a decision not to treat this mineral in the same manner, in which others had been treated. We, therefore, decided to make a policy for the exploitation of lithium and other green minerals of our country before any negotiations will commence”.
Mineral Royalties
This Lease, according to the Minister differs, from all previous mining leases in many respects, adding that it is the first time in the history of our country that government have successfully negotiated for ten percent (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 percent (19%) State participation in this mining company, with the requirement to scale it up to a minimum of thirty percent (30%) Ghanaian participation through listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange for shares to be made available to Ghanaians and Ghanaian entities”, he added.
And for the first time in the history of Ghana, a mining lease contains provisions for the establishment of a refinery, the Minister told the gathering.
Mr Abu Jinapor asserted that in everything that have done with this mining lease, the interest of the Ghanaian people has been paramount and the Government remains committed to the prudent, effective and efficient management of the natural resources of the country.
He concluded by urging all and sundry to support the government in this quest.
