ASX- and Nasdaq-listed Piedmont Lithium has welcomed the Ghana Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources' granting of a mining lease for the Ewoyaa lithium project, which is being developed by Piedmont and its partner Atlantic Lithium.

Receipt of the mining lease marks a significant step toward production and reflects Ghana’s interest in becoming a global resource for lithium concentrate, says Piedmont COO and Atlantic nonexecutive director Patrick Brindle.

The mining lease provides exclusive rights to carry out lithium mining and commercial production activities for an initial 15-year period. The issuance of the mining lease is subject to ratification by the Ghanaian Parliament and follows last month’s announcement by the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) of Ghana of its plans to invest $27.9-million to acquire a 6% stake in Ewoyaa and an additional $5-million to be invsted in Atlantic to help further, in part, the development of Ewoyaa.

The approval of the Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana will also be required before construction can start and Atlantic expects the Ewoyaa permitting process to be finalised in the second half of 2024.

Piedmont owns a 9% equity interest in Atlantic and, in August, announced that it exercised its option to acquire an initial 22.5% interest in Ewoyaa, subject to government approvals. Piedmont has a right to earn an additional 27.5%
interest in the project, subject to satisfying certain funding requirements, which would result in Piedmont and Atlantic each owning 50% of Ewoyaa, exclusive of the expected MIIF investment and the Ghanaian government’s carried
interest.

Piedmont also holds an offtake agreement to buy 50% of lithium concentrate production at Ewoyaa on a market-based pricing mechanism for the life of the mine.

Ewoyaa is expected to provide most of the feedstock for the 30 000 t/y lithium hydroxide plant Piedmont is building in Tennessee, in the US.