Chinese battery materials giant Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt has agreed to take over the remaining development funding obligations for Ghana’s Ewoyaa Lithium Project while simultaneously pursuing a proposed $210 million takeover of Atlantic Lithium.
The move represents a major shift in the financing structure of the Ewoyaa project and significantly improves funding certainty as Atlantic Lithium works toward a final development pathway.
Under agreements announced by both companies, Huayou will acquire all of Elevra Lithium’s rights and obligations relating to Ewoyaa and Atlantic Lithium’s broader portfolio for about $70 million, subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
Elevra, formerly known as Piedmont Lithium, had previously earned rights to a 22.5% interest in the Ewoyaa project under its joint venture agreement with Atlantic Lithium.
The agreement also granted Elevra rights to at least 50% of the spodumene concentrate offtake from the project.
However, relations between Atlantic Lithium and Elevra had increasingly weakened in recent months.
Atlantic Lithium disclosed earlier this year that Elevra had downgraded Ewoyaa within its capital allocation priorities and was seeking changes to the structure of the joint venture.
The company also revealed disagreements over project expenditure contributions, with both sides engaged in discussions and potential arbitration under the project agreement.
Huayou’s entry effectively resets the project partnership structure.
Under the new agreement, Huayou will assume Elevra’s rights, obligations, liabilities and offtake interests tied to Ewoyaa.
Atlantic Lithium also disclosed that Huayou has agreed that the “development costs conditions precedent”under the original project agreement are either satisfied or waived, effectively removing a key hurdle that could have delayed further funding for the project.
Under the original agreement between Atlantic Lithium and Elevra, additional funding commitments tied to the next phase of Ewoyaa’s development depended on certain technical, commercial and development conditions being met before more capital could be deployed.
With lithium prices remaining volatile and the project’s economics now under review through an updated Definitive Feasibility Study, those conditions had increasingly become a source of uncertainty around the timing and pace of the mine’s development.
By agreeing that those conditions are either satisfied or waived, Huayou is effectively signalling its willingness to proceed with the project’s funding obligations without reopening or renegotiating the earlier milestones.
Atlantic Lithium said this would allow Huayou to begin sole funding of the remaining development costs under the project agreement, replacing Elevra, whose financial contributions to the project had slowed significantly in recent months.
During the final quarter of 2025, Elevra contributed only about $398,000 toward the project, far below the scale of funding originally anticipated under the development arrangement.
This is a significant development for Atlantic Lithium, which has been navigating financing constraints, weaker lithium prices and changing project economics while simultaneously working on a revised feasibility assessment, permit renewals and compensation and resettlement negotiations with affected communities.
If completed, the transaction could materially accelerate development of the Ewoyaa mine.
Importantly, Huayou’s agreement to fund the remaining development costs is not dependent on the completion of its proposed $210 million acquisition of Atlantic Lithium.
This means Huayou could still play a central role in funding Ewoyaa’s development and benefiting from the mine’s output even if the broader takeover transaction does not go through.
Still, both transactions remain subject to approvals, including regulatory clearances and Ghanaian ministerial non-objection requirements tied to the transfer of control connected to the Ewoyaa project.
If both deals ultimately close, Huayou said it could indirectly control about 87% of the Ewoyaa Lithium Project, with the remaining 13% representing the Ghanaian state’s free carried interest negotiated under the mining lease agreement.
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