Researched by Gifty Tracy Aminu
The Parliament of Ghana, on March 19, 2026, ratified the mining lease for Barari DV to extract lithium and its by-products, feldspar and kaolin, at Mankessim in the Mfantseman Municipality of the Central Region.
The ratification led by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, granted Barari DV a fifteen (15) year mining lease, for exploration at the Ewoyaa concession. The lease is renewable in accordance with the Minerals and Mining Act 2006 (Act 703).
In this agreement, “The Government of Ghana shall be entitled to thirteen percent (13%) interest in the rights and obligations of the mineral operations of the Company as free carried interest in respect of which financial contributions shall not be paid by the Government,” the rectified agreement presented to Parliament said.
Days later, GhanaFact found a claim by an X page, Africa Facts Zone, suggesting that “Ghana’s first lithium mine will ship minerals to the USA, making it Africa’s only US-bound lithium project.”
In reaction to the post, another X user made claims regarding the deal, including the percentage Ghana gets from the deal, the amount of lithium to be extracted over a period and the company involved.
This fact-check report will seek to verify the following:
- Whether the mine is owned by an Australian company, and whether half of the output is locked in for an American company that has deals with Tesla and LG Chem.
- Will Ghana get between 5% and 12% in royalties?
- Whether Ghana’s first lithium mine is Africa’s only US-bound lithium project.
Fact-check
Claim 1 – Is the mine owned by an Australian company?
GhanaFact’s research found that Barari DV Ghana Limited is a subsidiary company of an Australian company called Atlantic Lithium Limited.
In the Parliamentary Committee report, it is stated that “In 2012, Barari DV Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of Atlantic Lithium Limited (ALL), started operations in Ghana when it was first granted a reconnaissance licence for exploration at the Ewoyaa concession in the Mfantseman Municipality of the Central Region.”
According to a statement by the company, the African-focused lithium exploration and development company targets to deliver Ghana’s first lithium mine. “The Company’s flagship Ewoyaa Lithium Project comprised the proposed Ewoyaa Lithium Mine and Processing Plant, enabling the advancement of the Project towards commercial production.”
GhanaFact also found that under the funding agreement, Atlantic Lithium Limited indicated that “The Company has a binding agreement with Piedmont Lithium to provide funding for the Ewoyaa Lithium Project as it moves towards production.”
Further financial agreement indicates that;
- Piedmont will earn a further 27.5% interest in Atlantic Lithium’s holding in the Ghana portfolio, taking its total interest to 50%.
- An offtake agreement was enabled for 50% of annual spodumene concentrate production at market prices from the Ghana Portfolio.
What about Piedmont Lithium?
According to publicly available information, Piedmont Lithium is a US-based company, but in August 2025, Piedmont Lithium and Sayona Mining merged to form Elevra Lithium.
Elevra Lithium on its website indicated that “Elevra Lithium holds an equity interest in Atlantic Lithium and a 50% earn-in for the Ghanaian spodumene projects. Through this agreement, Elevra can offtake 50% of Ewoyaa’s annual spodumene concentrate production on a life-of-mine basis at market prices.”
Does Piedmont Lithium have deals with Tesla and LG Chem?
Available information indicates that Piedmont Lithium indeed has deals with Tesla and LG Chem.
To further verify the claim, GhanaFact reached out to the Executive Director of Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Boakye, who confirmed that the American-based company Piedmont Lithium holds 50% shares. “That’s correct. From the last check, Piedmont had 50%,” he said.
Verdict
Therefore, the claim is true.
Claim 2 – Whether Ghana gets between 5% and 12% in royalties.
The Minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, on the floor of Parliament on March 19, 2026, said, “It is important that I point out key changes to this agreement. Indeed, there are provisions in this agreement that did not change. But there are fundamental changes that I must note.
“It is important to point out that, for example, there is a new provision that says that the company shall pay to the government of Ghana all other fees, levies and charges as provided under the applicable laws. Under the old agreement, it was fixed at 1%. Here, there is flexibility to allow the government of Ghana to lock in anytime there is that opportunity. So that flexibility has been provided.
“In terms of royalty, as we all know, we had a fixed royalty of 10%… There was a lot of noise made about the fact that royalty was reduced to 5%. Today, I am proud to say that at the current rate, royalty will be 12%, not the 10% fixed rate.” (3:38:54 to 3:40:56).
GhanaFact traced the 5% royalty claim to the former agreement, which can be found in Atlantic Lithium’s statement on October 20, 2023, indicating that “The Government of Ghana will also be entitled to a 10% royalty rate, increased from the 5% royalty rate incorporated in the DFS.”
Verdict
Therefore, this claim is partly true.
Claim 3 – Whether Ghana’s first lithium mine is Africa’s only US-bound lithium project
On the Ghana project being the first lithium mine that will ship minerals to America, making it Africa’s only US-bound lithium project, GhanaFact found a Bloomberg publication that confirmed the claim.
“The Ewoyaa mine will be Africa’s only US-bound lithium project, with all others backed by Chinese funding,” the report stated.
Another publication from 2023 by Oil Price, identified the Ewoyaa project as the first US-links to accessing lithium from Africa. “The first lithium mine in the Western African country is expected to become one of the first links in the nascent U.S. transition supply chain when it starts producing.
“Our investment in Ewoyaa will help alleviate potential future US supply constraints and provide crucial resources to help reduce America’s dependence on foreign nations, like China,” Bloomberg quoted one of the chief executives of one of the companies involved to have said. Our checks have also not shown any Africa-based mine shipping concentrates to the US.
Verdict
Therefore, the claim is rated true.
A brief about Lithium
Lithium is an element valuable for the production of glass, aluminum products, and batteries. It is mined from ores of petalite, lepidolite, spodumene, and also subsurface brines. According to the Parliamentary Committee report, global decarbonisation efforts, such as the shift to electric vehicles (EVs), are in large part made possible due to lithium batteries.
“As a result, the demand for lithium has increased exponentially in recent years. Projections suggest that by 2030, lithium demand may surpass 2.4 million metric tons of LCE (Lithium Carbonate Equivalent [LCE], which is the amount of lithium contained in one tonne of lithium carbonate),” the Committee said.
The Project’s economic viability and profitability potential for the production of 3.6 Mt spodumene concentrate over a 12-year Life of Mine.
What is spodumene concentrate?
Spodumene concentrate is the hard rock from which lithium is extracted. Spodumene Concentrate is a lithium aluminum silicate with the chemical formula Li [AlSi2O6]. It is the most common lithium-containing hard rock in the world. Spodumene deposits coexist with other minerals like feldspar and quartz.
