Overview
Atlantic Lithium Restricted (AIM: ALL, ASX: A11,GSE: ALLGH, OTCQX:ALLIF) is an African-focused lithium exploration and growth firm advancing its flagship Ewoyaa Lithium mission by way of to manufacturing as Ghana’s first lithium mine. Regardless of its lengthy mining historical past, beneficial regulatory local weather and steady political backdrop, Ghana stays largely missed as an funding jurisdiction for battery metals. Located on the West African coast, the nation boasts a robust strategic location, between Europe, the Americas and Asia, to serve the worldwide battery metals market. Ghana can also be dwelling to an abundance of mineral wealth, with c. 180,000 tonnes of estimated lithium assets.
Atlantic Lithium intends to supply spodumene focus able to conversion to lithium hydroxide and carbonate to be used in electrical car batteries, serving to drive the transition to decarbonisation.
A definitive feasibility research (DFS) launched in June 2023 reveals Ewoyaa has demonstrable financial viability, low capital depth and glorious profitability. After drilling on the new Canine-Leg goal, with high-grade assay outcomes, the JORC mineral useful resource estimate at Ewoyaa now stands at 36.8 million tons (Mt) at 1.24 p.c lithium oxide, 81 of which is now within the larger confidence measured and indicated classes (3.7 Mt at 1.37 p.c within the measured class, 26.1 Mt at 1.24 p.c within the indicated class, and seven Mt @ 1.15 p.c within the Inferred class).
By easy open-pit mining, three-stage crushing and standard Dense Media Separation (DMS) processing, the DFS (additionally contemplating the fiscal phrases agreed upon the grant of the Mining Lease for the mission in October 2023) outlines the manufacturing of three.6 Mt of spodumene focus over a 12-year mine life, delivering US$6.6 billion life-of-mine revenues, a post-tax NPV8 of US$1.3 billion and an inside charge of return of 94 p.c.
The mission is predicted to ship nameplate manufacturing from its plant as early as 2026.
As of October 2024, Atlantic Lithium has secured all of the regulatory approvals to take the corporate nearer to mine building on the Ewoyaa mission, together with a granted mining lease, the Environmental Safety Company allow, introduction and graduation of buying and selling on the Most important Market of the Ghana Inventory Alternate, and eventually, the receipt of the mine working allow.
The mining lease for the Ewoyaa mission has been submitted to the Ghana parliament to bear a ratification course of.
Venture Funding
The event of the mission is co-funded below an settlement with NASDAQ and ASX-listed Piedmont Lithium (ASX:PLL), with Piedmont anticipated to fund c. 70 p.c of the US$185 million whole growth expenditure indicated by the DFS.
In accordance with the settlement, Piedmont has accomplished funding of US$25 million in direction of research and exploration, and can sole fund an preliminary US$70 million, plus 50 p.c of prices thereafter (shared 50:50 between Atlantic Lithium and Piedmont), in direction of the full growth expenditure for the mission, as indicated by the DFS.
In return, Piedmont will obtain 50 p.c of the spodumene focus produced at Ewoyaa, offering a path to customers by way of a number of main battery producers, together with Tesla.
The Minerals Earnings Funding Fund (MIIF), Ghana’s minerals sovereign wealth fund, has additionally agreed to speculate a complete of US$32.9 million within the firm and on the project-level to expedite the event of the mission.
Representing the primary a part of the Strategic Funding, MIIF accomplished a Subscription for US$5 million Atlantic Lithium shares in January 2024, to turn into a significant strategic shareholder within the firm.
Representing the second a part of the Strategic Funding, MIIF has agreed to speculate, topic to the corporate reaching a binding settlement with MIIF, US$27.9 million within the firm’s Ghanaian subsidiaries to accumulate a 6 p.c contributing curiosity within the mission. The US$27.9 million project-level funding and the contributing curiosity are anticipated to take the type of funding for growth, exploration and research expenditure to help the development of the mission.
As well as, Atlantic Lithium is within the last levels of a aggressive offtake partnering course of to safe funding for a portion of the remaining 50 p.c obtainable feedstock from Ewoyaa.
The target of the method is to draw funding provides to sufficiently cowl the Firm’s allocation of growth expenditure for the Venture, to expedite and de-risk the event of the Venture, realise engaging phrases for any offtake contracted and safe a well-credentialled accomplice that may help the corporate’s and Ghana’s aims of supplying lithium into the worldwide electrical car market.
The corporate has indicated its most popular phrases of as much as 500,000 tons of spodumene focus to be contracted over a 3- to 5-year interval, utilizing a beneficial market-based pricing mechanism, for a consideration of as much as US$100 million within the type of a pre-payment association, which is predicted to sufficiently cowl the corporate’s allocation of growth expenditure.
Ghana
Ghana is a well-established mining area with entry to dependable, current infrastructure and a major mining workforce. There are at the moment 16 working mines within the nation.
Already the biggest taxpayer and employer in Ghana’s Central Area, Atlantic Lithium is predicted to offer direct employment to over 800 personnel at Ewoyaa and, by way of its group growth fund, whereby 1 p.c of income can be allotted to native initiatives, will ship long-lasting advantages to the area and Ghana.
By its confirmed lithium discovery, exploration and analysis methodologies, Atlantic Lithium has the potential to capitalise on its in depth exploration portfolio and ship upon its aims of changing into a number one producer of lithium in West Africa.
Atlantic Lithium’s flagship Ewoyaa lithium mission is located inside 110 kilometres of Takoradi Port and 100 kilometres of Accra, with entry to glorious infrastructure and a talented native workforce.
Atlantic Lithium has been granted a mining lease, an EPA allow and a mine working allow in respect of the mission in October 2023, September 2024 and October 2024, respectively. The corporate is at the moment advancing the mission in direction of manufacturing.
Highlights:
- Promising DFS Outcomes: Atlantic Lithium’s DFS reaffirmed Ewoyaa as an industry-leading asset with low capital depth and glorious profitability. Highlights embrace:
- Estimated 12-year lifetime of mine, producing 3.6 Mt spodumene focus.
- 365 ktpa regular state manufacturing
- Common LOM EBITDA of US$316 million each year
- NPV of US$1.3 billion
- Life-of-mine revenues of US$6.6 billion
- Modest $185 million growth expenditure
- Strong US$675/t All in sustaining price and US$377 C1 money price.
- Beneficial Location: The mission’s starter pits are positioned inside one kilometre of its processing plant. Moreover, Ewoyaa has entry to dependable current infrastructure, positioned inside 800 metres from the N1 freeway and adjoining to grid energy.
- Promising Reserves: Ewoyaa’s present mineral useful resource estimate (as of July 2024) at is 36.8 Mt at 1.24 p.c lithium oxide, of which 81 p.c is now within the larger confidence measured and indicated classes (3.7 Mt at 1.37 p.c lithium oxide within the measured class, and 26.1 Mt at 1.24 p.c lithium oxide within the indicated class, and seven Mt @ 1.15 p.c lithium within the inferred class).
- Potential for Additional Exploration: There stays vital exploration potential, with just one p.c of Atlantic Lithium’s whole tenure having been drilled so far.
- Robust Partnerships: Atlantic Lithium has a 50-percent offtake cope with Piedmont Lithium, which itself has offtake agreements with each Tesla and LG Chem, and has an agreed with Ghana’s Minerals Earnings Funding Fund to expedite the event of the Venture.
- Optimistic Presence: Atlantic Lithium will generate vital financial advantages for the area. As soon as operational, the mission is predicted to make use of over 800 personnel and ship roughly US$4.9 billion in worth to Ghana, together with by way of taxes, royalties, employment and native procurement.
Atlantic Lithium at the moment has two purposes pending for an space of roughly 774 sq. kilometres within the West African nation of Côte d’Ivoire. The underexplored but extremely potential area is thought to be underlain by prolific birimian greenstone belts, characterised by fractionated granitic intrusive centres with lithium and colombite-tantalum occurrences and outcropping pegmatites. The realm can also be extremely well-served, with in depth street infrastructure, well-established mobile community and high-voltage transmission line inside 100 kilometres of the nation’s financial capital, Abidjan.
Administration Workforce
Neil Herbert – Government Chairman
Neil Herbert is a fellow of the Affiliation of Chartered Licensed Accountants and has over 30 years of expertise in finance. He has been concerned in rising mining and oil and gasoline firms, each as an government and as an investor, for over 25 years.
Till Might 2013, he was co-chairman and managing director of AIM-quoted Polo Assets, a pure assets funding firm. Previous to this, Herbert was a director of useful resource funding firm Galahad Gold, after which he grew to become finance director of its most profitable funding, the start-up uranium firm UraMin, from 2005 to 2007. Throughout this era, he labored to drift the corporate on AIM and the Toronto Inventory Alternate in 2006, elevate US$400 million in fairness financing and negotiate the sale of the group for US$2.5 billion.
Herbert has held board positions at plenty of useful resource firms the place he has been concerned in managing quite a few acquisitions, disposals, inventory market listings and fundraisings. He holds a joint honours diploma in economics and financial historical past from the College of Leicester.
Keith Muller – Chief Government Officer
Keith Muller is a mining engineer with over 20 years of operational and management expertise throughout home and worldwide mining, together with within the lithium sector. He has a robust operational background in laborious rock lithium mining and processing, significantly in DMS spodumene processing.
Earlier than becoming a member of Atlantic Lithium, he held roles as each a enterprise chief and normal supervisor at Allkem, the place he labored on the Mt Cattlin lithium mine in Western Australia and, previous to that, Muller served as operations supervisor and senior mining engineer at Simec.
Muller holds a Grasp of Mining Engineering from the College of New South Wales and a Bachelor of Engineering from the College of Pretoria. He’s additionally a member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Board of Skilled Engineers of Queensland, and the Engineering Council of South Africa.
Amanda Harsas – Finance Director and Firm Secretary
Amanda Harsas is a senior finance government with a demonstrable observe document and over 25 years’ expertise in strategic finance, enterprise transformation, business finance, buyer and provider negotiations and capital administration. Previous to becoming a member of Atlantic Lithium, she labored in a number of sectors, together with healthcare, insurance coverage, retail {and professional} providers, throughout Asia, Europe and the U.S. Harsas holds a Bachelor of Enterprise from the College of Expertise, Sydney and is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and the Australian Institute of Firm Administrators.
Kieran Daly – Non-executive Director
Kieran Daly is the manager of Development and Strategic Growth at Assore. He holds a BSc Mining Engineering from Camborne Faculty of Mines (1991) and an MBA from Wits Enterprise Faculty (2001) and labored in funding banking/fairness analysis for greater than 10 years at UBS, Macquarie and Investec, previous to becoming a member of Assore in 2018.
Daly spent the primary 15 years of his mining profession at Anglo American’s coal division (Anglo Coal) in plenty of worldwide roles together with operations, gross sales and advertising, technique and enterprise growth. Amongst his key roles have been main and creating Anglo Coal’s advertising efforts in Asia and to metal {industry} clients globally. He was additionally the International Head of Technique for Anglo Coal instantly previous to leaving Anglo in 2007.
Christelle Van Der Merwe – Non-executive Director
Christelle Van Der Merwe is a mining geologist chargeable for the mining-related geology and assets of Assore’s subsidiary firms (comprising the pyrophyllite and chromite mines) and can also be involved with the corporate’s iron and manganese mines. She has been the Assore group geologist since 2013 and is concerned with the strategic and useful resource funding choices of the corporate. Van Der Merwe is a member of SACNASP and the GSSA.
Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng – Non-executive Director
Edward Koranteng is a lawyer and an skilled company and funding banker with over 23 years of expertise. He has served because the chief government officer of the Minerals Earnings Funding Fund (MIIF), Ghana’s sovereign minerals wealth fund, since 2021.
Previous to becoming a member of MIIF, Koranteng held the position of Enterprise Head for East, Central and Southern Africa for Ghana Worldwide Financial institution plc (“GHIB”), the place he was chargeable for GHIB’s vitality and mining portfolio. He additionally labored with the Chase Financial institution Group (Kenya), now SBM Financial institution of Mauritius, as group head for vitality, oil, gasoline and mining. Koranteng at the moment sits on the boards of Asante Gold Company, MIIF and Glico Common Insurance coverage Ltd.
Koranteng holds a BA (Hons) from the College of Ghana, a Grasp of Legal guidelines in Worldwide Banking and Finance from the College of Leeds within the UK, a Postgraduate Diploma from BPP Regulation Faculty within the UK and the Ghana Faculty of Regulation. He has practiced as a barrister in each the UK and Ghana and holds numerous government and postgraduate certifications, together with in oil, gasoline and mining from the Blavatnik Faculty of Authorities, College of Oxford within the UK.
Jonathan Henry – Unbiased Non-executive Director
Jonathan Henry is an skilled Non-Government Director, having held numerous management and board roles for practically 20 years. Henry has vital experience working throughout capital markets, enterprise growth, mission financing, key stakeholder engagement, and the reporting and implementation of ESG-focused initiatives. Henry has a wealth of expertise tasks in direction of manufacturing and commercialisation to ship shareholder worth.
Henry additionally serves as non-executive chair of Toronto Enterprise Alternate-listed (TSX-V) Giyani Metals Company, a battery growth firm advancing its portfolio of manganese oxide tasks in Botswana, having beforehand held the position of government chair. His earlier roles embrace as government chair and non-executive director at Ormonde Mining plc, non-executive director at Ashanti Gold Company, president, director and chief government officer at Gabriel Assets Restricted and numerous roles, together with chief government officer and managing director, at Avocet Mining PLC. He holds a BA (Hons) in Pure Sciences from Trinity School, Dublin.
Michael Bourguignon – Head of Capital Tasks
Michael Bourguignon is a distinguished mission administration skilled with a wealthy historical past of main vital initiatives within the mining and vitality sectors. Most lately, he served because the COO at Evolution Power Minerals in Tanzania, the place he managed the optimisation and replace of the Definitive Feasibility Research, managed the Entrance-Finish Engineering Design bundle, and oversaw the completion of the Relocation Motion Plan and different community-related works.
Previous to this, Bourguignon labored with Rio Tinto in Australia as a consulting building supervisor, in addition to Glencore’s Mopani Copper Mines in Zambia, the place he was the mission director for the Mopani Synclinorium Concentrator, and Syrah’s Balama Graphite Mine in Mozambique, the place he was mission director. He has additionally beforehand labored in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire with Perseus Mining.
Bourguignon holds an MBA from Murdoch College and is a member of the Australian Institute of Venture Administration.
Andrew Henry – Common Supervisor, Business and Finance
Andrew Henry is an achieved Common Supervisor with over a decade’s expertise within the operational mining sector, specialising in technique, planning and evaluation, contracts, large-scale mission growth and web site operations.
Earlier than becoming a member of Atlantic Lithium, Henry held the position of economic supervisor at international lithium chemical compounds firm Allkem and, previous to that, he spent over 4 years with main gold mining firm Newcrest Mining.
Henry holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the College of South Australia and is a member of CPA Australia.
Ahmed-Salim Adam – Common Supervisor, Operations
Ahmed-Salim Adam is an skilled mining normal supervisor with over 15 years of expertise main numerous large-scale tasks in Ghana throughout all levels of mine growth, manufacturing, and closure, with a give attention to security and sustainability.
Adam has beforehand held plenty of management roles, together with as senior marketing consultant of Metallurgy at GEOMAN Seek the advice of Ltd, as a director for FGR Bogoso Prestea Ltd’s Refractory Venture and as normal supervisor at Golden Star Assets Ltd.
He holds a MPhil Minerals Engineering and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Mineral Engineering, each from the College of Mines and Expertise, Ghana. He’s additionally a member of The Institute of Supplies, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) in the UK and the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) in Australia.
Simone Horsfall – Common Supervisor, Individuals
Simone Horsfall joins Atlantic Lithium as Common Supervisor, Individuals with over 25 years of expertise working throughout a broad vary of industries, with a give attention to the mining sector. Beforehand, Horsfall spent over a decade at AngloGold Ashanti Australia as human assets supervisor and, extra lately, at 29Metals as group supervisor of human assets.
Horsfall holds a diploma in Human Useful resource Administration, a college certificates in Psychology from Edith Cowan College, Sydney, and a post-graduate diploma in Human Assets from Deakin College.
Belinda Gethin – Common Supervisor, Company Finance and Firm Secretary
Belinda assumed the position of normal supervisor, company – finance and firm secretary in January 2024, having initially joined the corporate as monetary reporting supervisor in June 2023. To her position at Atlantic Lithium, Gethin brings a wealth of expertise in all elements of statutory, monetary and company reporting, together with the preparation of economic statements and accounting for complicated transactions. Earlier than becoming a member of Atlantic Lithium, Gethin labored because the chief monetary officer for Lumus Imaging and, previous to that, because the group reporting supervisor at Healius. Gethin is a chartered accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from UNSW in Sydney, Australia.
Iwan Williams – Common Supervisor, Exploration
Iwan Williams is an exploration geologist with over 20 years’ expertise throughout a broad vary of commodities, principally iron ore, manganese, gold, copper (porphyry and sed. hosted), PGE’s, nickel and different base metals, in addition to chromitite, phosphates, coal and diamond.
Williams has in depth southern and west African expertise and has labored in Central and South America. His expertise consists of all elements of exploration administration, mission era, alternative evaluations, due diligence and mine geology. He has in depth research expertise having participated within the supply of a number of mission research together with useful resource, mine design standards, baseline environmental and social research and metallurgical test-work programmes. He’s very accustomed to working in Africa having spent 23 years of his 28-year geological profession in Africa. Williams is a graduate of the College of Liverpool.
Abdul Razak – Exploration Supervisor, Ghana
Abdul Razak has in depth exploration, useful resource analysis and mission administration expertise all through West Africa with a robust give attention to data-rich environments. He has in depth gold expertise having labored all through Ghana with AngloGold Ashanti, Goldfields Ghana, Perseus and Golden Star, in addition to worldwide exploration and useful resource analysis expertise in Burkina Faso, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Guinea.
Razak is an integral member of the crew, managing all web site actions together with drilling, laboratory, native groups, geotech and hydro, group consultations and stakeholder engagements and was instrumental in institution of the present growth crew and defining Ghana’s maiden lithium useful resource estimate.
