Neil Herbert of Atlantic Lithium: mining lease is a major milestone in its advancement towards production

 
Neil Herbert, Executive Chairman, of Atlantic Lithium #ALL discusses the award of the Mining Lease for the company’s Ewoyaa Lithium Project by Ghana’s Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, saying it's a major endorsement of the viability of the Project and a landmark de-risking milestone in its advancement towards production.

Highlights

- Mining Lease terms, secured in the interests of all stakeholders through close cooperation with the Government of Ghana, in line with establishing its new Green Minerals Policy, maintain the Project's position as one of the lowest capital and operating cost hard rock lithium projects globally and indicate strong commercial viability and exceptional profitability potential for a 2.7Mtpa steady state operation, producing a total of 3.6Mt of spodumene concentrate (approximately 350,000tpa) over a 12-year mine life1:

· Ewoyaa to become one of the top 10 largest spodumene concentrate producers globally;

· Payback period of main processing plant of 9.5 months;

· C1 cash operating costs of US$377/t of concentrate Free-On-Board ("FOB") Ghana Port, after by-product credits, All in Sustaining Cost ("AISC") of US$675/t;

· Development cost estimate of US$185m; to be substantially funded by Piedmont Lithium and planned investment by Ghana's sovereign wealth fund, the Minerals Income Investment Fund ("MIIF");

· Post-tax NPV8 of US$1.3bn, with free cash flow of US$2.1bn from Life of Mine ("LOM") revenues of US$6.6bn.

- Mining Lease represents a considerable de-risking milestone in the development of the Project.

- First Mining Lease to be granted for lithium in Ghana, demonstrating the Government's strong support in the Company as its 'partner of choice' to deliver long-term lithium production and serving as a major landmark in the country's efforts to reaffirm its status as a leading mining destination and establish itself as a key player in the global decarbonisation drive in Africa.

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