Atlantic Lithium’s Finance Director, Amanda Harsas has disclosed that around 900 planned jobs are at risk if the delay in the ratification of the Ewoyaa Lithium agreement continues.

With the company having already made cuts to its workforce as a result of the ongoing delays, she is concerned that further planned jobs (as many as 900) would not come to fruition if Parliament does not expedite the ratification process.

Speaking to the press on the sidelines of the opening day of the 2024 West Africa Mining Security Conference, Amanda Harsas reviewed some measures the company has had to undertake due to the delay in the ratification of the deal.

She lamented that the company has been compelled to cut down its staff significantly due to the delay. With global prices of lithium experiencing a slump, the company could make further adjustments to its staff if the ratification of its Ewoyaa Mining Lease does not occur in the next parliamentary sitting.

She is concerned that over 900 employees of the company in the Central Region could lose their jobs if there is no resolution to the situation.

She also disclosed that the delay in ratification will affect the timeline of its Ewoyaa Project, which is expected to lead to the socio-economic development of communities in the Central Region.

“We have had the mining lease now for nearly twelve months, but we are still awaiting ratification from Parliament. It’s been disappointing that the ratification has taken this long. Unfortunately, we’ve had to make cuts to our staff because of the delay. This delay is going to affect our timelines, the benefits for Ghana, and for the Central Region. Parliament is resuming on October 15, so we are hoping that we will get ratified and get on with the project.

“The delay has affected our timeline. Rather than accelerating and getting into production as quickly as we can, we’ve had to be more careful due to the uncertainty. Our exploration and other activities have slowed down. We’ve had a slowdown, and it will take us a long time to get into production. We’ve constantly reviewed our deadlines with the information we get. With elections coming in December, we hope that the ratification is done when Parliament resumes because if it goes into next year, there will be another delay.

“The price has declined hugely. That kind of price reduction means that a lot of projects globally have either been stopped or stalled. We are urging Parliament to ratify so that we can get into production. We’ve got 900 jobs in the Central Region and many more indirect jobs, as well as the Community Development Fund for the local community,” she said.

In October 2023, a 15-year lease was granted to Atlantic Lithium (A11.AX) to establish the nation’s first lithium mine.

However, almost a year after the deal was announced, Atlantic Lithium has yet to begin operations due to the delay by Parliament in ratifying the agreement.