PFS completed at Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana

Atlantic Lithium, the funded African-focused lithium exploration and development company targeting to deliver Ghana’s first lithium mine, has announced the completion of the PFS on the Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana.

Lennard Kolff, Interim CEO of Atlantic Lithium, made the announcement and said the completion demonstrates the significant profitability potential of this stand-out project. The PFS was managed directly by the company, engaging experienced internationally recognized consultants, and incorporates the increased JORC resource of 30.1 Mt at 1.26% Li2O, as announced on 24 March 2022.

“We are delighted to release our PFS for the Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana, which further illustrates Ewoyaa as an industry-leading lithium asset, generating in excess of US$4.84 billion in revenues over a 12.5-year mine life.

Study details

The study outlines a robust 2 Mtpa operation which can deliver excellent cash flows, an exceptional 20-week payback and a post-tax NPV8 of US$1.33 billion producing a coarse, premium DMS SC6 product including credits from DSO fines and feldspar by-products.

“The study used a long-term average SC6 price of US$1,359/t FOB Ghana, with recent equivalent grade prices as high as US$7,708/t being achieved on Pilbara Minerals Limited BMX platform and representing a mid-range forecast when compared to other commentators.

“Every US$100/t increase in SC6 price forecast results in an additional 9% increase to the post-tax NPV8, highlighting the significant potential value uplift to the project. We are also pleased to declare a maiden Ore Reserve of 18.9 Mt at 1.24% Li2O, presenting sound resource to reserve conversion and confirming the robust project fundamentals.

“Operating costs of US$278/t SC6, which include a discount of US$165/t for by-products, further demonstrate the attractive fundamentals of the Project. Ewoyaa benefits from simple mineralogy, low power and water consumption, a DMS-only process flow-sheet design, skilled workforce, and proximity to operational infrastructure, including grid power, sealed road and deep-sea port. These fundamentals are arguably among the best in the world and enable a low carbon footprint project.

“CAPEX has increased from US$70 million to US$125 million in the PFS, primarily due to bringing the crushing circuit in-house as opposed to contract crushing. Additionally, the increased resource footprint resulted in increased costs, including the extended high-voltage power line re-alignment and inflationary cost pressures in line with the current market. The financial model, however, shows that the Project is currently not sensitive to inflationary and capital cost increases.

“Against the backdrop of buoyant global lithium demand, driven particularly by electric vehicle demand, we believe Ewoyaa will play a significant role in the role of sustainable lithium production. This PFS moves the Project another step closer to becoming Ghana’s first lithium-producing mine. Supported by our funding agreement with Piedmont Lithium Inc., we are excited to continue advancing the Ewoyaa Lithium Project through the next stages of studies and permitting towards production. The resource infill and extensional drilling programme underway is nearing completion and we look forward to sharing updates on this and further project developments shortly.”