Photo by: Atlantic Minerals
Name of the Project
Ewoyaa lithium project.
Location
Ghana.
Project Owner/s
Aim-listed lithium explorer and developer Atlantic Minerals. Piedmont has an earn-in right of 50% of Atlantic’s Ghanaian projects, including Ewoyaa, and the company holds a 10% equity interest in lithium explorer Atlantic Lithium.
Project Description
Ewoyaa has probable reserves of 25.6-million tonnes grading 1.22% lithium oxide. Total mineral resources are estimated at 35.3-million tonnes grading 1.25% lithium oxide.
Over the 12-year life-of-mine (LoM), the project is expected to produce 3.58-million tonnes a year of 6% and 5.5% spodumene concentrate, as well as 4.7-million tonnes of secondary product as a by-product of dense-media separation (DMS).
Development involves the opencut mining of several lithium-bearing pegmatite deposits, conventional DMS processing and supporting infrastructure.
Potential Job Creation
Not stated.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $1.5-billion and an internal rate of return of 105%, with a payback of 19 months.
Capital Expenditure
$185-million.
Planned Start/End Date
Production of spodumene concentrate and secondary product are targeted for the second quarter of 2025.
Latest Developments
Atlantic Lithium has announced that multiple broad intervals of visible spodumene have been observed in drilling outside of the current mineral resource estimate, significantly increasing the potential for a resource upgrade.
There is also the longest reported continuous pegmatite interval in the 2023 drilling programme to date – a 106 m in hole GRC1020 from 6 m at the Dog-Leg extension target on the northern tip of the Ewoyaa main deposit.
Visible coarse-grained spodumene fragment intervals have been reported at shallow depths in three holes.
Coarse-grained, P1-type spodumene pegmatite is preferred for the DMS process flowsheet considered in the definitive feasibility study.
Resource drilling is ongoing, with completion of the enhanced 26 500 m planned programme targeted for the second quarter of 2024.
Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.
Contact Details for Project Information
Atlantic Minerals, tel +61 2 8072 0640 or email info@atlanticlithium.com.au.