The Africa Policy Lens (APL) has warned that Ghana could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in state revenue if the government goes ahead with its proposal to cut the agreed lithium royalty rate for Barari DV Ghana Limited from 10% to 5%.
Addressing journalists in Accra, the policy think tank argued that the 10% rate—approved by the previous administration after a Cabinet-led review of lithium and related mineral royalties—remains competitive and economically sound. The group observed that although the current administration previously claimed the 10% rate was insufficient, it now intends to halve it, a move the APL says would weaken Ghana’s fiscal position.
Describing the proposed reduction as “economically unjustified,” the APL stressed that royalty regimes should not be adjusted based on short-term commodity price swings. It explained that even countries that use sliding-scale royalty systems set upper limits based on long-term value, not temporary market dips.
“The best international practices in mining investment dictate that royalty rates are not determined by short-term market fluctuations,” the APL stated, arguing that recent declines in global lithium prices do not warrant lowering Ghana’s negotiated rate.
Referencing the definitive feasibility study for the Ewoyaa Lithium Project, the organisation noted that the project’s all-in sustaining cost (AISC) is about US$610 per tonne, using a spodumene concentrate price of US$1,587 per tonne. At that price point, the project delivers margins of roughly 62% per tonne before royalties—evidence, the APL says, that the negotiated 10% rate remains fair and financially viable.
