Mining investors, particularly those holding significant shares in Atlantic Lithium, the company that secured the lease through its local subsidiary, Barari DV Ghana Ltd, to mine lithium at the Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana’s Central Region, are raising concerns about the delay in ratifying the mining lease.
The lease was first signed on October 20, 2023, but failed to secure ratification after a political gridlock in parliament.
A new lease was later signed in 2025 and laid before parliament on November 11, 2025. However, uproar over the reduction in the royalty rate from 10% to 5%, along with concerns about other aspects of the revised lease, led the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, to withdraw the lease on December 10, 2025, for further consultations.
Nine days later, on December 19, 2025, the minister re-laid the mining lease before parliament together with a proposed sliding royalty scale for minerals in Ghana.
The royalty rate, now effective, would move between 5% and 12% depending on global lithium prices.
The revised lease was then referred to parliament’s Lands and Natural Resources Committee on the same day for further consultation and a report to the plenary for possible ratification.
However, after about 25 parliamentary sittings and at least one committee meeting specifically on the lithium lease, there has been little visible movement and unusually little communication on the status of the process.
Global mining investors are beginning to take notice.
One significant individual shareholder in Atlantic Lithium said the prolonged delay is beginning to affect 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?”
Another shareholder said investor sentiment around 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 sentiments have been simmering for some time now as the process appears to have stalled at the committee level.
Ghana must perform its due diligence on the lithium lease and ensure that the agreement delivers maximum benefit to the country while keeping the project commercially viable for the company.
Finding that balance will inevitably require negotiations and consultations.
However, regular updates and greater transparency around the process are important, particularly given the amount of capital involved.
Investors tend to place their money where they feel processes are predictable and transparent.
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