 mounted a spirited opposition against the Lithium agreement deal between the Ghana government and Barari DV Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of Atlantic Lithium, the NDC government makes a U-turn on the Lithium agreement deal and presents it to parliament for approval.){kind=link}
After the National Democratic Congress (NDC) mounted a spirited opposition against the Lithium agreement deal between the Ghana government and Barari DV Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of Atlantic Lithium, the NDC government makes a U-turn on the Lithium agreement deal and presents it to parliament for approval.
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources presented the renegotiated Mining Lease Agreement to Parliament. The agreement covers the extraction of lithium and other valuable minerals at Ewoyaa, near Mankessim, in the Central Region.
The presentation marks a major breakthrough for the project, which had faced prolonged delays amid strong opposition from the NDC over concerns about transparency, valuation, and the government’s equity stake in the deal.
However, with the renegotiated terms now before the House, government officials say the new deal provides a fairer balance between Ghana’s national interest and the investor’s commercial viability.
Under parliamentary procedure, the document will first be referred to the parliamentary committee on Lands and Natural Resources, for detailed examination before a resolution is laid before the plenary for approval.
If approved, the Ewoyaa project will become Ghana’s first commercial lithium mining operation — a key step toward positioning the country as a competitive player in the global electric vehicle and battery minerals market.
Former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and Member of Parliament for Damongo constituency, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has raised red flags over the government’s decision to reintroduce the Ewoyaa lithium mining lease agreement.
“The explanatory statement made by the current Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, the terms of it, the terms of the explanatory statement, is not fundamentally different from the terms of the explanatory statement I made in this House as Minister for Lands and Natural Resources,” Jinapor emphasised.
Under the original deal laid by Abu Jinapor, the government secured several key benefits, including a 10% royalty rate, double the standard rate for other minerals. A 13% free carried interest for the state and additional equity through the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF). The government was also to get a 1% community development fund and a commitment toward local lithium processing and value addition.
At the time, the then-opposition NDC Minority strongly opposed the deal, arguing that it did not serve Ghana’s best interests and needed to be renegotiated. Now in government however, the NDC has resubmitted the same agreement, with minimal revisions, and is reportedly using the same explanatory statement that Jinapor presented in 2024, the one they previously criticized.
Abu Jinapor urged the Speaker to reject the laying of the lithium mining agreement, describing the move as inconsistent and politically contradictory.