Atlantic Lithium Limited (AIM: ALL, ASX: A11, GSE: ALLGH, OTCQX: ALLIF, “Atlantic Lithium” or the “Company”), the African-focused lithium exploration and development company targeting to deliver Ghana’s first lithium mine, is pleased to announce its Quarterly Activities and Cash Flow Report for the period ended 30 September 2024.

Highlights

Project Development:

• Post-period end, significant progress made towards the permitting of the Company’s flagship Ewoyaa Lithium Project (“Ewoyaa” or “the Project”) in Ghana:
  • Granted a Mine Operating Permit, representing the final regulatory approval required prior to commencing construction of the Project.
  • Issued a Land Use Certificate, detailing the approval of the land within the Project’s Mining Area to be rezoned for mining purposes, as required prior to commencing construction and mining activities.
• Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) environmental permit granted in respect of the Project.
• Ewoyaa Mining Lease submitted to parliament to undergo the necessary ratification process.
• Completion of the Front-End Engineering Design (“FEED”) package for the Project, undertaken with DRA Projects.

Exploration:

• Ewoyaa Mineral Resource Estimate increased to 36.8Mt at 1.24% Li2O1, reported in accordance with the JORC Code (2012).
• Completion of baseline soil and stream sediment sampling across the Rubino and Agboville exploration licences in Côte d’Ivoire.
• Completion of soil geochemical sampling across the Senya Beraku prospecting licence area in the eastern portion of the Company’s Cape Coast Lithium Portfolio in Ghana.

Corporate:

• Ongoing delay of parliament’s ratification of the Ewoyaa Mining Lease combined with the subdued lithium market environment continues to impact Final Investment Decision timing, Minerals Income Investment Fund’s (“MIIF”) Project-level investment and the Company’s competitive offtake partnering process to secure funding to sufficiently cover the Company’s allocation of development expenditure for the Project.
• Cash on hand at end of quarter was A$7.5m.

Commenting, Neil Herbert, Executive Chairman of Atlantic Lithium, said:

“Important steps have been made over recent months in line with our efforts to advance Ewoyaa towards full permitting. Signifying the support of the Minerals Commission, the EPA and our local stakeholders, the grant of the EPA permit and Mine Operating Permit, respectively, represent critical approvals in the permitting process and major de-risking milestones for the Project.

“The delay in ratification has impacted the offtake process and MIIF’s investment already and has forced us to make cuts to staff numbers and expenditure across various non-essential departments. Nevertheless, we remain confident in our ability to drive the Project through these headwinds towards construction and operation. We now await the ratification of the Mining Lease by Ghana’s parliament, which will enable us to move the Project towards Project FID.

“The parliamentary process is playing out in the public domain as we speak, and we appreciate shareholders’ patience as these developments unfold. We are prepared for all eventualities and will update shareholders as appropriate. In the meantime, we are continuing activities within our control to advance the Project.

“We are also pleased to have reported an increase to the Ewoyaa Mineral Resource to 36.8Mt at 1.24% Li2O1 during the period. Despite the drilling programme being focused on supporting our mine build activities, we identified the Dog-Leg target, which contributed an additional circa 891,000 tonnes to the enlarged Resource1. We believe that Ewoyaa holds significant potential for further resource increases. Our current focus, however, remains firmly on bringing the Project to production, which we consider to be the greatest driver of value for shareholders.

“With significant milestones in the advancement of the Project ahead, the coming period is set to be hugely important for the Company.

“We look forward to providing further updates in due course.”

News in full

We caught up with Chairman Neil Herbert. He provided an update on Atlantic’s operations, outlining the key recent milestones reached and what we should look out for in the next twelve months