Accra, Ghana//-The Ghana Chamber of Mines says it is pleased with the ongoing engagements among government, civil society, media, and the larger population in the lithium mining contract brouhaha.
The Government of Ghana through its Ministry for Lands and Natural Resources recently signed the mining contract with Barari DV Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of Australian-based Atlantic Lithium Limited.
The company was granted a 15-year mining lease in October 2023 for the exploitation of lithium in the Ewoyaa area of the Central Region.
The project, with a life of 12 years, is expected to produce approximately 350,000 tonnes of concentrate at 5.5-6% lithium oxide.
However, civil society organisations, individuals, opposition politicians and some private associations have described the agreement as a rip-off.
In reacting to the announcement of the agreement, which is yet to be approved by Ghana’s Parliament, the Chamber which represents the collective interests of companies involved in mineral exploration, production, and processing in Ghana is happy with the heated national discussions on the mining lease for the Ewoyaa project.
The President of Ghana Chamber of Mines, Joshua Mortoti in the press release lauded the Ministry and Minerals Commission for their manifest commitment to promoting constructive public discourse, inclusive development, and transparency.
“In the same vein, we commend the civil society community for their important contributions to seeking a fair share of the benefits associated with the development of lithium resources for the country”, the release said.
The conflation of the views of the different stakeholders is expected to enhance the project’s outcomes without hurting the country’s ability to attract requisite private capital to develop mineral endowments responsibly. Accordingly, we urge circumspection in the discourse on the subject”.
Further, the Chamber which is the main minerals industry association found it unfortunate that some commentators had inaccurately portrayed the mining sector as shortchanging the country in terms of the distribution of mineral rents.
The Chamber stated emphatically that; “Apart from the significant value that is retained in-country through employment and purchases from local suppliers, a plethora of studies have shown that a more than proportionate share of mineral rents accrues to the government”.
For instance, it cited a model by the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) suggests that the government’s share of mining rents is “just over 50%” which “falls comfortably within the 40% to 60%” profit-sharing ratio recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for mining countries[1].
The Chamber recognised that the current arrangement where some fiscal inflows from the mining sector are blended with other taxes in the Consolidated Fund impedes the visibility of the developmental impact of the mining sector.
Against this backdrop, the Chamber has been advocating for the sequestration of fiscal payments by mining companies in a manner that is akin to the practice in the oil and gas sector, the release noted.
More so, the Chamber has been championing the plough-back of a commensurate portion of mineral revenue to host communities promptly to complement the voluntary corporate social investment initiatives of its member companies to enhance socio-economic development.
The Ghana Chamber of Mines assured the country of its unalloyed commitment to continue working with stakeholders to leverage the country’s mineral endowments for inclusive and sustainable development.
The development of mineral resources according to the Chamber should lead to outcomes that are beneficial to both the host country and investors.
