Post #228

🔴 Bureaucratic Limbo in Ghana It is believed that democracy is a good thing - everyone can express their very important opinion on virtually any issue. But here's the counterargument: Ghana, a country that, without a strong hand, is drowning in mercury from illegal mining, and endless discussions do not even allow it to diversify away from gold even a little bit — the country's first lithium mining project has been circulating in parliament for three years without result. 🌐 In October 2023, the government submitted a bill to parliament that other countries would have jumped at. The Atlantic Lithium company's project was to become Ghana's first industrial lithium deposit, supplying spodumene concentrate to the global battery market. Today this deal is still under consideration. 🔸Back then the opposition in Parliament, consisting of the now ruling NDC party, criticized the project and ratification was delayed. Then lithium prices fell and Atlantic Lithium requested more favorable terms. Now the NDC itself is trying to push the agreement through. 🔸On paper, the agreement is designed in an unusually beneficial way for the state by international standards. Ghana would have a 19% stake, increased royalties 1% of the project's revenue would go to a local community development fund. ⏩ Nevertheless, the project is under constant criticism and may now prove unviable due to low profitability. It is clear that large companies need to be harnessed and everything needs to be double-checked 10 times before a contract is awarded. But in a country where the riverbanks look like a lunar landscape due to illegal artisanal gold mining, it would be better not to delay projects that can create jobs and diversify the economy. Devils Below