Aim- and ASX-listed Atlantic Lithium has secured access to funding of up to a combined value of $16.4-million (A$23.1-million or £12.2-million).

This comprises a strategic investment, from a subscription for ordinary shares and the issue of warrants, by a group of Ghanaian pension funds to invest up to about $11-million (A$15.5-million or £8.2-million); and a placement under the company’s share placement agreement with Long State Investments to raise $5.4-million (A$7.6-million or £4-million).

Proceeds will be used to support the advancement of the company’s flagship Ewoyaa lithium project, in Ghana, towards production.

In a statement, Atlantic Lithium says it welcomes the Ghanaian investors as strategic, in-country shareholders with a long-term investment horizon, closely aligned to the successful development of the project.

Through the issue of the company’s ordinary shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange, Atlantic Lithium says it aims to facilitate greater Ghanaian ownership in its efforts to establish Ewoyaa as the country’s first lithium mine.

“Facilitated by IC Asset Managers (Ghana), we are delighted to welcome a number of Ghanaian pension funds to the company’s share register,” says Atlantic Lithium CEO Keith Muller.

“The interest of the Ghanaian investors in Atlantic Lithium reflects a broader desire in Ghana to see the country deliver on its critical mineral promises and diversify its revenue stream beyond its existing portfolio, which is centred on gold.

"This strategic investment, therefore, provides the opportunity for the Ghanaian investors to share ownership in these ambitions, while providing the company staged access to capital upon the achievement of key project milestones,” he avers.

Concurrently, the company has agreed to undertake a third placement under the share placement agreement with Long State to raise an additional $5.4-million, Muller highlights.

“The third placement, which exhausts the remaining capacity of the share placement agreement in one undertaking, as mutually agreed with Long State, secures funding at attractive terms to support the continued advancement of the project.

“We welcome Long State’s ongoing support, which we believe, in addition to the endorsement from the Ghanaian investors, firmly validates the company’s management team, assets and strategic direction,” he points out.

“From our perspective, Ghana’s economic momentum is largely anchored by three sectors: telecommunications, financial services and mining. As managers of long-term institutional capital, it is important that the portfolios we steward reflect meaningful exposure to these pillars of the economy.

“Historically, mining has not featured prominently in our portfolios. However, the global transition toward green energy, coupled with Ghana’s discovery of lithium, presents a unique opportunity to participate in a strategic asset that could have a lasting impact on the country’s industrial future,” IC Asset Managers CIO Obed Tawiah Odenteh says.

“Our investment in Atlantic Lithium therefore reflects a deliberate, long-term commitment to this emerging sector. We see it as an opportunity for pension funds to own a stake in a nationally significant resource while partnering with a management team we find professional, transparent and constructive to work with over the long term,” Odenteh explains.