Piedmont confirms development support for Atlantic Lithium’s Ewoyaa project
Emerging producer Piedmont Lithium (ASX: PLL) has confirmed its intent to support the development of Atlantic Lithium’s (ASX: A11) flagship Ewoyaa project in Ghana towards production.
The company plans to meet its expenditure obligations under the terms of a staged investment agreement signed with Atlantic (formerly named IronRidge Resources) in July 2021, giving Piedmont the right to earn a maximum 50% equity in the Ghana-based spodumene projects.
Piedmont acquired an initial 22.5% interest in the portfolio when it contributed US$5 million towards a 2022 regional exploration program and US$12 million towards the delivery of a pre-feasibility study in September.
Next equity stage
In the next equity stage, it will sole fund the first US$70 million of Ewoyaa’s total development expenditure and split any additional funds required to build the mine on a 50:50 basis with Atlantic.
This stage is intended to result in the completion of construction and initial production of spodumene concentrate at Ewoyaa.
Production is currently estimated to begin in 2025 after all required licences and approvals have been received from regulatory authorities.
Fulfilment of this stage will see Piedmont earn an additional 27.5% interest in the project.
Supportive partner
Atlantic Lithium executive chairman Neil Herbert said Piedmont remained a “highly supportive and collaborative partner”.
“We are delighted that Piedmont has elected to proceed with the next phase of Ewoyaa’s development,” he said.
“We believe this commitment reflects [the company’s] strong belief in this project, further de-risking it and moving us ever closer to first spodumene concentrate production in Ghana.”
Moving forward
Piedmont chief executive officer Keith Phillips was pleased with the company’s decision to move forward on the project.
“Ewoyaa is a key part of our global portfolio and we are confident in the progress our partners have made with the robust DFS and in discussions with Ghana’s Minerals Commission,” he said.
“We look forward to continuing to work with Atlantic to advance this asset.”
Definitive feasibility study
Ewoyaa has a US$185 million development expenditure as indicated in a definitive feasibility study released in June.
The study incorporated a resource of 35.3 million tonnes grading 1.25% lithium oxide based on a total 137,153 metres of drilling (including a 47,000m program completed in 2022) and ore reserves of 25.6Mt at 1.22% lithium oxide.
It confirmed the project’s economic viability and “exceptional” profitability potential at a 2.7 million tonnes per annum steady state of operation, to produce 3.6Mt of spodumene concentrate over a 12-year life of mine.