Atlantic Lithium attains Ghana stock exchange listing
Atlantic Lithium Limited () has received approval from the Ghana Stock Exchange's Listing Committee and Ghana's Securities and Exchange Commission to list its shares by introduction on the main market of the GSE.
Atlantic Lithium will be the first near-term lithium producer with an in-country asset to list on the GSE.
The company’s flagship project is Ewoyaa, a globally significant hard rock spodumene deposit in Ghana's Central Region.
According to the June 2023 definitive feasibility study, Ewoyaa is expected to produce a steady state of 365,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per annum, making it one of the largest spodumene mines in the world.2
On 20 October 2023, Ghana's Minister of Lands and Natural Resources granted a Mining Lease in respect of the project, comprising the proposed Ewoyaa lithium mine and processing plant, enabling advancement towards commercial production.
The company then welcomed Ghana's mineral sovereign wealth fund (MIIF) as a new major, strategic shareholder on 24 January 2024 following a US$5m investment in Atlantic Lithium by way of a share subscription.
This investment, which formed the first stage of MIIF's proposed total US$32.9m investment in the company and its Ghanaian subsidiaries, demonstrates the Ghanaian government's significant support.
Subject to a binding agreement with MIIF, MIIF has agreed to invest a further US$27.9m in the subsidiaries that hold the lithium interests in Ghana, to acquire a 6% contributing interest in the Ghana portfolio, inclusive of the project.
MIIF recommends all mining companies in which it has equity investments list on the GSE, and supports them in doing so.
A GSE listing gives Ghanaians the opportunity to invest a strategically important sector for the country.
Meanwhile, Atlantic Lithium is awaiting parliamentary ratification of the Mining Lease and, concurrently, is advancing the necessary permitting steps, with the intention of breaking ground at Ewoyaa in the second half of this year.
The project is set to achieve nameplate capacity in 2026, against a backdrop of increasing global electric vehicle demand.
Having been operating in Ghana since 2016, the Company is now a leading employer and taxpayer in the Central Region. Atlantic Lithium’s in-country team is entirely Ghanaian, including many from the communities that surround the project.
Black Star Brokerage Limited ("Black Star") is acting as Transaction Advisor, Sponsoring Broker and Arranger to the Company's listing.
"As the first lithium company to commence trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange, Atlantic Lithium's admission represents a new chapter in the country's esteemed mining history,” said Neil Herbert, executive chairman of Atlantic Lithium.
"By offering Atlantic Lithium shares on the GSE, we aim to maximise local participation in the project and more closely align our Ghanaian stakeholders with the long-term success of the company. In addition, we believe we provide the opportunity for Ghanaian investors to contribute towards and share ownership in the advancement of Ghana's first lithium mine and the emergence of its promising green minerals industry.”
View from Vox
Atlantic Lithium laid out its likely newsflow for 2024 at the start of this year, and so far it’s been delivering as promised. The company looks well positioned to deliver production from a major new lithium mine into a market that could well be in full-blow recovery mode shortly. The Ghanaian listing is part of a broad-based local engagement programme that Atlantic Lithium has been undertaking for many years in-country, and this programme goes a long way towards accounting for its success to this point. Further news to look out for in the coming months will likely include news on off-take, permitting, parliamentary ratification, and the breaking of ground as construction gets underway.
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