IMANI Africa has called on the government to urgently revise the regulatory framework governing Ghana’s emerging lithium industry, insisting that critical or “green” minerals require a different and more dynamic governance structure.
Speaking on concerns raised over the country’s green minerals regime, Bright Simons, Vice President of IMANI Africa, argued that the current legal and policy approach used for traditional minerals such as gold and bauxite is unsuitable for fast-moving strategic minerals like lithium, whose prices and global demand can swing dramatically within short periods.
Simons stressed that the absence of a clearly published “green minerals policy” leaves Ghana unprepared for the volatility that characterises minerals essential to the global energy transition.
“What we are asking for is that the green minerals policy, which separates the normal mining from the rest of the new emerging minerals, must be published.
“These new green minerals behave differently. Their demand is under such massive pressure that what happens is that they can easily immediately go to 100 times what the price was yesterday.”
Bright Simons, Vice President of IMANI Africa
He pointed to lithium carbonate prices, which surged close to US$100,000 in recent cycles, as an example of how sharply and unpredictably these minerals can fluctuate. This, he argued, makes it dangerous for Ghana to rely on traditional fixed-royalty models used in gold mining.
“We will sign a royalty arrangement of 5% and then in one month, the thing will go to 100 times the original pricing and the investor will be making massive windfall profits.”
Bright Simons, Vice President of IMANI Africa
He added that Ghana’s current law does not adequately adjust for such windfalls.
Simons recommended that the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources invoke a rarely used legal clause that allows the state to impose tailored royalty and fiscal terms through regulation.
According to him, this provision is “a very powerful law because it allows us to be much more clinical in our policy making in respect of these types of minerals like lithium, nickel and others.”
IMANI Rejects Scoping Study for Lithium Refinery
Beyond fiscal and regulatory issues, IMANI is mounting pressure on government to commit firmly to value addition, particularly the construction of a lithium refinery in Ghana. The agreement’s current approach, which requires only a “scoping study” on refining possibilities, is inadequate, Simons argued.
“The refinery thing matters to us. The issue around the gap between the mineral and its compounds is a determination around where processing is held.
“That is why China has become so powerful in rare earth metals… It is because China also controls the processing.”
Bright Simons, Vice President of IMANI Africa
He explained that unlike traditional minerals, the real value in green minerals lies not in extraction but in chemical processing, because “their chemistries, not the mining,” determine their strategic and economic significance.
With more than 90 percent of global processing currently concentrated in China, Simons warned that Ghana cannot allow its lithium industry to replicate this imbalance.
IMANI therefore rejects the government’s proposal of a scoping study, which merely examines whether refining might be possible—and instead demands a full feasibility study that maps out actual requirements for building a refinery within Ghana.
“A scoping study simply means that you want to find out more about the process. That’s not what we want.
“We don’t need a scoping study. What we need is a feasibility study, so we know exactly what the requirements will be to do the refinery.”
Bright Simons, Vice President of IMANI Africa
Calls for Immediate Feasibility Study
Bright Simons insisted that this feasibility study must be completed in the first year of Ghana’s lithium project to prevent long-term export of raw minerals.
“Lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonates are almost 20 times the price of the raw metal.
“Something that can give you 20 times more, you don’t play with it.”
Bright Simons, Vice President of IMANI Africa
Simons summarised IMANI’s concerns, stressing that government must publish the green minerals policy, issue specific royalty regulations for critical minerals, and adopt a binding feasibility-study requirement for domestic refinery development.
He emphasised that Ghana cannot afford to treat lithium like gold or other mature minerals whose prices are stable and predictable, warning that failure to adopt a special regulatory regime could see Ghana lose billions in potential revenue during future price spikes.
As the country prepares to enter large-scale lithium mining, IMANI’s position adds pressure on policymakers to ensure that Ghana does not repeat historical mistakes of exporting raw minerals while forfeiting long-term economic value.
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