Investors Raise Concerns Over Delay in Ratifying Ewoyaa Lithium Mining Lease

Mining investors, particularly those holding significant shares in Atlantic Lithium, the company that secured a lease through its local subsidiary, Barari DV Ghana Ltd, to develop the Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana’s Central Region, are raising concerns over the prolonged delay in ratifying the mining lease.

The lease was first signed on October 20, 2023, but failed to secure ratification due to a political gridlock in Parliament.

A new lease was subsequently signed in 2025 and laid before Parliament on November 11, 2025. However, controversy over the reduction of the royalty rate from 10 percent to 5 percent, along with concerns about other aspects of the revised agreement, prompted the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, to withdraw the lease on December 10, 2025, to allow for further consultations.

Nine days later, on December 19, 2025, the minister re-laid the mining lease before Parliament, this time accompanied by a proposed sliding royalty scale for minerals in Ghana.

Under the proposed arrangement, the royalty rate would range between 5 percent and 12 percent, depending on global lithium prices.

The revised lease was referred to Parliament’s Lands and Natural Resources Committee the same day for further consultations and the preparation of a report for the plenary to consider possible ratification.

However, after about 25 parliamentary sittings and at least one committee meeting dedicated to the lithium lease, there has been little visible progress and limited communication regarding the status of the process.

The situation is beginning to attract attention from global mining investors.

One significant individual shareholder in Atlantic Lithium said the prolonged delay is beginning to undermine confidence in Ghana’s mining sector.

“I’m gradually losing confidence in the country. I just don’t get it. Everyone is watching this. Who would invest in Ghana’s mining sector, given how this has been handled since 2023? How can they go around wooing the whole mining world and then do nothing back at home?” the investor said.

Another shareholder noted that investor sentiment towards Ghana is already shifting.

“A couple of my investors have been turning quite negative on Ghana, as they seem unwilling or unable to get things moving. Some have started selling their shares in Ghanaian mining companies.”

These concerns have been simmering for some time as the process appears to have stalled at the committee level.

While Ghana must conduct thorough due diligence on the lithium lease to ensure the agreement delivers maximum benefit to the country while keeping the project commercially viable, such negotiations and consultations inevitably take time.

However, regular updates and greater transparency in the process are crucial, particularly given the scale of capital involved.

Investors typically place their money where regulatory processes are predictable, transparent, and efficient.