By: Kingsley Nana Buadu
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Mfantseman, Ophelia Quansah Hayford, has pleaded with the Minerals Commission and other authorities to expedite action towards issuing operational license to the Saltpond Atlantic Lithium Company to begin full operations.
According to the MP, while waiting for the constituency’s share of 1D1F, the youth of Mfantseman look forward to an opportunity to be employed in the Company when operational license is finally given to the company.
In an interview on the sidelines of this year’s regional workers day durbar at Saltpond, the Central Regional Minister, Justina Marigold Assan and the MP Madam Ophelia Quansah Hayford, commended the Atlantic Lithium company for their continuous support towards the regions activities and prayed that efforts are fast track to regularise their operations so they could employ more youth from the area.
The Atlantic Lithium Company has been at Ewoyaa near Saltpond for about seven years under taking prospecting for Lithium.
Lithium is a raw material used for the production of batteries for electric vehicles.
In January 2020, an Australian Mineral Exploration company called Iron Ridge resources which is the mother organization for Atlantic Lithium announced a maiden mineral resource estimate at 14.5 million tones lithium at 1.31 per cent lithium oxide grade for its Ghana Ewoyaa project.
The project is to place Ghana as the first West African lithium producing nation with significant revenue to fund it socio-economic development.
Since the report of this good news, the people of Mfantseman especially the youth are expectant of getting employment from the company but not much of their expectations have been met.
The company is said to be still doing exploration and prospecting the past seven years.
Although few youth have been employed, the people are wondering why commercial operation license has not been issued to them to commence full operation so they could employ more of them.
The Member of Parliament for Mfantseman, Ophelia Quansah Hayford and the Regional Minister, Mrs. Justina Marigold Assan, have added their voices to the calls on the Mineral Commission and other authorities to expedite action in issuing the company a commercial operation license so they could begin full operation.
The MCE Ike Lord Ennu, noted that he is optimistic that, next year Atlantic Lithium company would have it commercial operation license.
