PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Dual-listed Atlantic Lithium has awarded a $980 000 front-end engineering design (FEED) contract to Promero Group for the processing plant at the Ewoyaa lithium project, in Ghana.

Under the terms of the agreement, Primero will optimise the project flow sheet, identify long-lead items, look to maximise the project’s long-term profitability, reduce execution risk and ultimately support the advancement of the project.

“We are thrilled to take the next significant step towards becoming a lithium producer by awarding the FEED contract to Primero. Primero is an industry leader in engineering and construction in the lithium sector, as proven by their technical expertise, quality and efficient delivery across an extensive portfolio of projects around the world,” said Atlantic executive chairperson Neil Herbert.

“Primero’s involvement invites a fast-tracked programme and significantly reduces execution risk and, therefore, will be highly valuable to the company.”

Meanwhile, Roux Terblanche has been appointed as project manager at Ewoyaa, with immediate effect.

Terblanche has over 25 years’ experience across the domestic and international mining sectors, including the lithium sector in West Africa.

“Terblanche brings considerable experience and expertise to the team, not least having been involved in delivering the prefeasibility study at Ewoyaa, and his appointment comes at an exciting and highly important time,” said Herbert.

“The award of the contract to Primero and Terblanche’s appointment as project manager demonstrate the significant steps we are taking to advance the project towards production. Following the recent completion of the drilling programme at the project, we look forward to announcing an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) in the coming months, which will put us in good stead to announce the definitive feasibility study in mid-2023.”

Atlantic’s Ewoyaa lithium project has a MRE of 30.1-million tons grading 1.26% lithium oxide, including 20.5-million tonnes at 1.29% lithium oxide in the indicated category and 9.6-million tons at 1.19% lithium oxide in the inferred category.