Policy think tank, Strategic Thinkers Network-Africa (STRANEK-Africa), has called for transparency as Ghana prepares to go into large scale mining of lithium.

According to the group, lithium will, in the long run, contribute to the country’s fight against climate change as it provides an energy source alternative to the ones that contribute to climate change.

“Indeed, if lithium is produced in commercial quantities in Ghana, it will contribute immensely to supplying materials which can be used to fight climate change. Ghana can play an important role in the electric car manufacturing business which is part of the low-carbon technologies.

“Natural resource curse should not be Ghana’s portion where Ghana will heavily depend on mineral rents and revenues including unprocessed raw materials.

“It is therefore the position of STRANEK-Africa that there ought to be transparency and accountability so far as mining particularly lithium is concerned in the war against climate change. This can be achieved by depersonalising the process by which the application to mine is concerned,” STRANEK-Africa said in a statement.

Among other things, STRANEK-Africa said the government must also explore the country's potential for lithium while working to prevent unregulated mining.

“Satellites must be set up by the appropriate mining authorities to watch keenly the sites identified to have greater potential in terms of lithium. The intention behind this monitoring should be about discovering the mineral in commercial quantities.

“Unregulated small-scale miners must be prevented from encroaching the mineral, lithium so that Ghana will be able to benefit immensely from this rich mineral which is essential in the fight against climate change,” the statement added.

Ghana in 2018 discovered lithium in large scale quantities. The discovery was made in several regions including Volta, Western and Ashanti Regions by the Minerals Commission.

Read the full statement by STRANEK-Africa