On May 7, 2026, Chinese battery materials giant Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt announced plans to acquire Atlantic Lithium in a proposed $210 million transaction that could significantly reshape the future of Ghana’s Ewoyaa Lithium Project.

If completed, the deal would further deepen China’s growing influence in Ghana’s large-scale mining sector.

Five days later, Huayou agreed to assume the remaining development funding obligations for the Ewoyaa project while continuing its pursuit of Atlantic Lithium.

That development is significant because it effectively resets the project’s partnership structure. In practical terms, it means development of the Ewoyaa mine could proceed even if the broader takeover of Atlantic Lithium ultimately does not.

Read also: Chinese company Huayou agrees to fund Ewoyaa mine development amid Atlantic Lithium takeover talks

Yet beyond the financing implications, the proposed takeover raises a broader question: what happens to the local participation provisions that formed a key part of the mining lease ratified by Parliament?

If Atlantic Lithium is acquired and eventually delisted, two of the principal channels through which Ghanaians were expected to participate in the project could change materially.

The Mineral Income Investment Fund’s existing equity stake would likely be bought out, while public ownership through the Ghana Stock Exchange could disappear unless a new listing structure is maintained.

Those mechanisms formed part of a broader effort to ensure that Ghanaians benefited from the project not only through royalties, taxes and the state’s free carried interest, but also through direct ownership.

Whether those arrangements survive under a new ownership structure remains unclear.

When the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources first signed the Ewoyaa mining lease in October 2023, and subsequently renegotiated and re-executed it on December 19, 2025, the agreement was widely viewed as different from previous mining leases in Ghana.

The lease sought to secure greater Ghanaian participation in the project.

Beyond the 13% free carried interest secured for the state, the agreement required Barari DV, the leaseholder, or its parent company, Atlantic Lithium, to list on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), creating an opportunity for Ghanaians to directly own part of the project.

Schedule 2 of the lease states:

“The Company or its parent company shall list on the Ghana Stock Exchange in accordance with Regulation 13 of the Minerals and Mining (Local Content and Local Participation) Regulations, 2020 (LI 2431).”

The lease also provides for participation by the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF).

Schedule 2 further states:

“The Company shall grant the Minerals Income Investment Fund equity stake in the mining project in accordance with the terms and conditions as shall be agreed with the Company.”

MIIF, Ghana’s sovereign minerals fund, receives a portion of the country’s mineral royalties and is mandated to invest those resources for the long-term benefit of Ghanaians.

In early 2024, MIIF subscribed for approximately 19.2 million Atlantic Lithium shares for $5 million, currently giving it a 2.4% stake in the company. The investment also gave MIIF board representation at Atlantic Lithium, providing Ghana with visibility over company-level decisions.

Together with the state’s 13% free carried interest, MIIF’s investment and the GSE listing requirement formed part of a broader effort to increase Ghanaian ownership and participation in the project.

These provisions reflected a deliberate policy shift.

Rather than relying solely on royalties, taxes and the state’s free carried interest, the lease sought to give Ghanaians a direct stake in the project’s success.

The provisions featured prominently during the parliamentary debate on the lease and were presented as evidence that the project would deliver benefits beyond royalties, taxes and the state’s free carried interest.

Yet Huayou’s own transaction announcement suggests the ownership structure underpinning those provisions could change significantly.

The company stated that, if the acquisition is completed, it would indirectly hold about 87% of the Ewoyaa Lithium Project.

“Huayou will indirectly hold an 87% equity interest in the Ewoyaa Lithium Project, with the specific equity ratio subject to the final closing results…After the completion of this transaction, the Company will hold 100% of the shares in Atlantic Lithium and Atlantic Lithium will be delisted from the London Stock Exchange’s AIM, the Australian Securities Exchange and the Ghana Stock Exchange.”

The state’s 13% free carried interest therefore appears protected under the current structure. The more important question is what becomes of the additional layers of Ghanaian participation embedded in the lease.

Listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange was not merely a corporate decision but a requirement contained in Schedule 2 of the mining lease ratified by Parliament.

The provision was intended to facilitate direct Ghanaian participation through share ownership.

Huayou could ultimately choose to maintain or replicate some form of local ownership arrangement. However, if Atlantic Lithium is delisted following the takeover, one of the principal channels through which local participation was expected to occur could effectively disappear unless an alternative structure is introduced.

The proposed transaction also has direct implications for MIIF and other Ghanaian shareholders.

Based on the proposed acquisition terms, MIIF would receive about $0.25486 per share.

According to Atlantic Lithium’s disclosures, the fund acquired its 19.25 million shares at approximately $0.2598 per share in 2024.

The offer price is therefore about 1.9% below MIIF’s acquisition cost, implying a potential marginal loss of roughly $95,000 (₵1 million) if the transaction proceeds on the announced terms.

The picture looks even less favourable in cedi terms.

The cedi has strengthened against the dollar since MIIF made its investment, meaning any proceeds converted back into local currency could be worth less than they would have been at the exchange rates prevailing at the time of purchase.

The final cedi-denominated outcome will depend on the exchange rate when the transaction closes.

MIIF has not yet publicly stated its position on a deal that could see it exit its equity stake, realize a potential loss, and affect one of the key local participation channels underpinning the Ewoyaa lease.

The same issue of valuation also extends to retail investors who purchased Atlantic Lithium shares through the Ghana Stock Exchange.

Atlantic Lithium listed on the GSE at GH¢4.40 per share.

Based on the proposed acquisition terms, shareholders would be bought out at roughly GH¢2.85 per share at current exchange rates, meaning many Ghanaian retail investors would likely exit at a loss.

That is, unless a different mechanism or separate arrangements are put in place for shareholders who acquired Atlantic Lithium shares through the Ghana Stock Exchange.

The proposed transaction therefore raises broader questions about whether the local ownership ambitions underpinning the lease can still be achieved in the manner originally envisaged when Parliament approved the agreement.

The transaction will require approvals from several institutions, including the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ghana Revenue Authority, among others.

In reviewing the transaction, regulators may have to determine not only whether the deal satisfies legal and regulatory requirements, but also whether it remains consistent with the local participation objectives embedded in the Ewoyaa lease.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources declined to comment, saying the ministry was awaiting further information on the proposed transaction before taking a position.

The Minerals Income Investment Fund acknowledged receipt of JoyNews Research’s request for comment but had not provided its position on the proposed transaction at the time of publication.

The Securities and Exchange Commission was also contacted but had not responded at the time of publication.

The story will be updated should a response be received.