Pressure is mounting on the government to reconsider its mining lease with Atlantic Mining of Australia on plans to mine lithium in Ghana.
The IEA and Professor Ransford Gyampo of the University of Ghana have respectively made computations of revenue the country is giving away under the terms of the current mining lease which, if true, would be scandalous and be a basis for rejecting the agreement.
The IEA, backed by a former Chief Justice, Ms. Sophia Akuffo, has also contended that a “joint venture” agreement or a “service contract” are preferred legal vehicles as opposed to a mining lease or concession, which they characterize as a colonial form.
A senior research fellow at the IEA Dr. John Kwaakye has called on the government to renegotiate the 10% royalty Ghana is likely to benefit from the deal.
Given the state of governance in our country and the long-held conviction that the country has not had enough benefits from mining, it is understandable that there is suspicion about a significant transaction such as the grant of a lithium mining lease to a subsidiary of an Australian-listed mining company whose significant U.S. shareholder will buy half the product of the mine and send it to its U.S. plant for processing.
Mr. Kwaakye said Ghana is not benefiting enough from the deal.
Story by: Osei Akoto / Ahotoronline.com
