The Minister for Lands and Naatural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has assured that the mining lease agreement between Ghana and Barari DV Ghana Limited for lithium extraction will be presented to parliament for ratification.
This announcement was made during a press briefing on Thursday, where the minister addressed concerns over the lease signed on October 20, 2023.
According to the Damongo MP, the lease mandates ratification by Parliament, and failure to undergo this process would result in its annulment.
“There has been an issue of ratification of the lease. It has been raised by several people. This has never been lost on us as this is expressly provided for the mining lease granted to Barari DV Ghana Limited.
“Specifically, Clause 1E of the lease states ‘the mining lease is subject to ratification by Parliament in accordance with Article 2681 of the constitution and section 54 of Act 703’. ‘Upon execution of this mining lease, the Minister shall cause the mining lease to be laid in Parliament for ratification,” he said.
“By the very term of the lease, therefore, ratification by Parliament is a condition precedent, he said, “as an unratified mining lease confers no enforceable right, and the government has always been mindful of this decision.”
“The mining lease in question will be laid before Parliament for ratification,” he added.
News about the lease has been met with mixed reactions with former Chief Justice of Ghana, Sophia Akuffo, saying it lacks completeness without parliamentary ratification.
However, the Minerals Commission responding to critics has said the lease is the best for Ghana.
In a press statement on Monday, the Minerals Commission pointed out that the critical statements made by some individuals stem from a lack of thorough reading of the agreement.
The statement emphasized that many concerns are based on inaccurate assumptions and unsupported assertions.
About the lease
The mining lease, granted for 15 years to Barari, a subsidiary of Atlantic Lithium Limited, an Australian company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange, covers an area of 42.63 km² in and around Ewoyaa in the Mfantseman Municipality of the Central Region.
The $250-million project, located in Ewoyaa, Mfantseman Municipality in the Central Region, is set to commence production by 2025.
The deal includes a 10% royalty and 13% free carried interest by the state, surpassing the existing 5% and 10%, respectively, for other mining agreements.
Barari DV Ghana Limited is also required to contribute 1% of its revenue to a community development fund for the upliftment of the mining area.
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