Ghana stands at a critical turning point as the nation prepares to fully harness the value of its lithium resources. The country’s extractive history, from gold to bauxite to oil and gas, has been marked by negotiations that did not always secure optimal value for citizens. Against this backdrop, the lithium agreement presents both a national priority and a test of Ghana’s resolve to ensure that strategic minerals drive long-term, transformative development.
What the Previous Government Negotiated: A Marked Improvement in Extractive Governance
When the 2023 Green Minerals Policy was introduced and the initial lithium agreement with Atlantic Lithium/Ewoyaa was announced, the previous administration made notable gains that departed from Ghana’s traditional resource-for-revenue model.
- Increased Royalties (10%)
The agreement secured a 10% royalty—far above the standard 5% applied across Ghana’s mining sector. Doubling royalties is rare in extractive history and signalled that lithium is a strategic mineral deserving premium fiscal treatment. - Higher State Equity (19%)
Ghana secured a combined 19% stake, made up of:
13% free carried interest
6% additional equity purchase option
This represents a significant improvement over earlier mining agreements, where Ghana often held 10% or less.
- Commitment to Local Value Addition
For the first time, a mining contract required the construction of a lithium chemical refinery in Ghana, ensuring the country benefits from processing rather than exporting raw ore. - Local Content Protections
The agreement included provisions to:
Prioritise Ghanaian suppliers
Build local technical capacity
Enhance employment opportunities for indigenes in the Ewoyaa area
- Green Minerals Governance Framework
The Green Minerals Policy introduced mandatory processing and refining, stricter environmental obligations and clearer community development responsibilities, improvements absent in earlier mining arrangements.
By Ghana’s historical standards, especially judging by gold concessions of the 1990s and early oil contracts, these measures represented a stronger negotiation outcome. The previous government, comparatively, delivered a “good negotiation.”
But Good Can Be Better — and Better Can Be Best
With lithium now a globally strategic resource powering electric vehicles, renewable technologies and global energy transition, the current government has an opportunity to elevate the initial agreement into a world-class, future-ready national asset.
What the Current Government Can Improve
- Move Beyond Refining to Battery Manufacturing
A refinery is a major step, but Ghana can go further by negotiating:
Battery precursor production
Partnerships with EV manufacturers
A battery technology corridor in the Central Region
This would shift Ghana from merely processing minerals to becoming a genuine value-chain participant.
- Strengthen Revenue Assurance and Profit-Sharing
To enhance fiscal returns, Ghana can negotiate:
A windfall profit tax
Stronger transfer pricing controls
A ring-fenced lithium fund for intergenerational investment
- Legally Enforceable Community Benefit Agreements
Communities like Ewoyaa must benefit directly through:
Binding social infrastructure commitments
Environmental monitoring with community participation
A local development fund with guaranteed long-term impact
- Progressive Increase in Ghana’s Equity Stake
A phased approach could allow:
Additional state share acquisition when the project becomes profitable
Local pension funds to invest in the lithium sector
More Ghanaian participation across the downstream processing
- Full Transparency and Public Disclosure
To build public trust, the government must:
Publish full contract terms
Develop a lithium dashboard tracking revenue, production and value
Institutionalise open contracting for all critical minerals
- Establish a Strategic Minerals Institute
For sustained negotiation excellence, Ghana should create a:
Critical Minerals Negotiation Unit
Technical training programme for geologists, lawyers and economists
National data repository on green minerals
This would significantly strengthen Ghana’s bargaining power for all future mineral agreements.
Conclusion
The previous government made meaningful progress by negotiating one of the strongest extractive agreements in Ghana’s recent history. But the global lithium market is dynamic—and too valuable for a business-as-usual approach.
The current administration is well-positioned to:
Preserve what was good,
Improve what can be better, and
Deliver what will ultimately be best for the Ghanaian people.
Lithium is not just another mineral—it is Ghana’s gateway to the future of energy, technology and industrial transformation. This is the moment to negotiate boldly, transparently and strategically. Ghana deserves nothing less.
Author:
Kwegyir Essel Isaac
MSc Oil and Gas Accounting (Robert Gordon University, Scotland)
Member, Energy Institute (UK)
Member, Engineers Australia
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