Mining Intelligence and News
Ghana

Ewoyaa Project

Click for more information

Categories

Summary

Mine TypeOpen Pit
Study CompletedFeasibility
StagePermitting
Commodities
  • Spodumene
  • Lithium
  • Quartz
  • Feldspar
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Project Timeline... Lock
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotThe Ewoyaa Lithium Project has secured all necessary permits for construction, including the Mine Operating Permit, Land Use Certificate, and Water Use Permit, marking the final regulatory steps before mining begins. Atlantic Lithium Ltd. awaits ratification of the Ewoyaa Mining Lease by Ghana’s parliament.

Technical refinements with DRA Projects have optimized plant design, clarified capital expenditure, and confirmed tailings can be dry-stacked, eliminating the need for a Tailings Storage Facility. The team is finalizing key contracts to support the Board’s Final Investment Decision (FID).

The updated Mineral Resource Estimate confirms feldspar, based on the same model as the Li2O estimate, supporting cost reductions, local ceramics supply, and successful metallurgical testing. DFS optimisation provides key insights into project funding and commercial production.

The Project remains on track to become Ghana’s first lithium mine and a major global spodumene producer.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Atlantic Lithium Ltd. 100 % Indirect
Atlantic Lithium currently holds 80% of the Mankessim RL3/55 license (through Barari DV Ghana Ltd) and 100% of the Mankessim South PL109 license (through Green Metals Resources Ltd).

Piedmont Lithium (soon to merge with Sayona Mining into MergeCo) is funding the first $70M of project development and can earn up to 50% of Atlantic Lithium’s interest in the project.

If fully exercised, MergeCo could acquire up to 40% of the Ewoyaa Lithium Project, reducing Atlantic Lithium’s stake accordingly. The remaining 20% of Mankessim RL3/55 belongs to an undisclosed joint-venture partner.

Contractors

Lock

- subscription is required.

Deposit type

  • Pegmatite

Summary:

Pegmatite-hosted lithium deposits are the target for exploration. This style of mineralisation typically forms as dykes and sills intruding or in proximity to granite source rocks.

The Ewoyaa pegmatites contain relatively consistent amounts of spodumene (within the mineralised zones), quartz, albite, potassic feldspar (“k-feldspar”) and muscovite mica, along with numerous other minerals in relatively minor amounts.

The Ewoyaa Project area has two clearly defined material types of spodumene bearing lithium mineralisation. The Company has termed these material types as Pegmatite Type 1 (“P1”) and Pegmatite Type 2 (“P2”). P1 material is characterised by coarse grained spodumene bearing pegmatite which exhibits very coarse to pegmatoidal, euhedral to subhedral spodumene crystals. P2 material consists of medium grained spodumene, euhedral to subhedral in shape and can compose up to 50% of the rock. The two material types have different metallurgical recoveries.

In general, the Ewoyaa Project area is largely underlain by rocks of the Birimian Supergroup, dominated by volcano-sedimentary lithologies of the Cape Coast Basin, situated on the southeast margin of the extensive Cape Coast Granitoid. Three forms of schist are developed in the area; mica schist, staurolite schist and garnet schist; all of which are a blue-grey colour when fresh, with weathering to a brown colour. All of the schist appears to be quartz-biotite rich and well-foliated. The staurolite occurs as 2mm to 20mm porphyroblasts, while the garnets are generally small 1 to 2mm and could be almandine or possibly spessartine within the quartz-mica schist.

Several, presumably Eburnean-aged, granitoids intrude the basin metasediments as small bosses and plugs. These granitoids range in composition from intermediate granodiorite (often medium-grained) to felsic leucogranites (coarse to pegmatoidal grain size), both sometimes in close association with pegmatite veins and bodies.

Several roughly north-south trending dolerite dykes cut through the Birimian schist and the later granitic and pegmatite intrusions and are presumably of Miocene age. The dolerite dykes are some 5 to 30m wide and are easily mapped using the airborne magnetic data and also outcrop in places as rounded float and boulders. A single dolerite dyke cuts through the Abonko area, skirting the east side of the aggregate quarry. In the extreme west of the tenement area, a number of subparallel dolerite dykes extend from the coast northwards through and past the large Afrangwa granitic boss. This north-south trending structural corridor of parallel dolerite dykes appears to host roughly north-south trending elongate granitic intrusive bodies and pegmatites as well as the dolerite dykes.

Dimensions
The Project Mineral Resource area extends over a north-south strike length of 4,390m (from 577,380mN – 581,770mN), and includes the 360m vertical interval from 80mRL to -280mRL.

Reserves

Lock

- subscription is required.

Mining Methods

Lock

- subscription is required.

Required Heavy Mobile Equipment

Lock

- subscription is required.

Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Lock

- subscription is required.

Processing

Lock

- subscription is required.

Commodity Production

Over the life of mine, the Ewoyaa Project is estimated to produce 1,792,222t of 6% (SC6) and 1,792,195t of 5.5% (SC5.5) grade spodumene concentrate. The average Whole Ore Recovery for SC6 is 62.1%, and for SC5.5 is 67.2%.
CommodityProductUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
Spodumene Concentrate kt 3503,600
Lithium Fines t 4,733,264

Operational metrics

Metrics
Annual processing capacity  ....  Subscribe
Stripping ratio  ....  Subscribe
Waste tonnes, LOM  ....  Subscribe
Ore tonnes mined, LOM  ....  Subscribe
Total tonnes mined, LOM  ....  Subscribe
Tonnes processed, LOM  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2023 study.

Production Costs

CommodityUnitsAverage
Credits (by-product) Spodumene USD  ....  Subscribe
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Spodumene USD  ....  Subscribe
C1 cash costs Spodumene USD  ....  Subscribe
Assumed price Spodumene USD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2023 study / presentation.
** Net of By-Product.

Operating Costs

CurrencyAverage
OP mining costs ($/t mined) USD  ....  Subscribe
Processing costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe
G&A ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2023 study.

Project Costs

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Initial CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Sustaining CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Closure costs $M USD  ......  Subscribe
OP OpEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Processing OpEx $M USD 212.2
G&A costs $M USD 168.8
Gross revenue (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
EBITDA (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Net Income (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 8% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
After-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscribe

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 15, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 15, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 15, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 15, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 15, 2025

Workforce

EmployeesYear
...... Subscription required 2022

Aerial view:

Lock

- subscription is required.