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Atlantic Lithium
Investor Insight
Atlantic Lithium is advancing Ghana’s first lithium mine at Ewoyaa, a fully permitted, strategically located project ready to supply global battery markets. With strong local support and a clear path to production, the company is positioned for near-term growth and long-term impact in the energy transition.
Overview
Atlantic Lithium (AIM:ALL,ASX: A11,GSE:ALLGH,OTCQX: ALLIF) is an Africa-focused lithium exploration and development company advancing its flagship Ewoyaa Lithium project through to production as Ghana’s first lithium mine.
Despite its long mining history, favourable regulatory climate and stable political backdrop, Ghana remains largely overlooked as an investment jurisdiction for battery metals. Situated on the West African coast, the country boasts a strong strategic location, between Europe, the Americas and Asia, to serve the global battery metals market. Ghana is also home to an abundance of mineral wealth, with c. 180,000 tonnes of estimated lithium resources.
Atlantic Lithium intends to produce spodumene concentrate capable of conversion to lithium chemicals for use in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage, aiming to support global decarbonisation.
A definitive feasibility study (DFS) released in June 2023 shows that Ewoyaa has demonstrable economic viability, low capital intensity and excellent profitability.
Through simple open-pit mining, three-stage crushing and conventional Dense Medium Separation (DMS) processing, the DFS outlines the production of 3.6 Mt of spodumene concentrate over a 12-year mine life, which will make it one of the largest spodumene mines by production capacity globally.
The Ewoyaa Lithium Project was awarded a Mining Lease in October 2023, an EPA Permit in September 2024, and a Mine Operating Permit in October 2024.
Having secured all of the permits required to begin construction, Atlantic Lithium currently awaits parliamentary ratification of the Ewoyaa Mining Lease, which was issued by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources in October 2023.
The JORC mineral resource estimate at Ewoyaa now stands at 36.8 million tons (Mt) at 1.24 percent lithium oxide, 81 of which is now in the higher confidence measured and indicated categories (3.7 Mt at 1.37 percent lithium oxide in the measured category, 26.1 Mt at 1.24 percent lithium oxide in the indicated category, and 7 Mt at 1.15 percent lithium oxide in the Inferred category).
The residents of the project-affected communities in Ghana’s Central Region have voiced their strong support from the advancement of the project towards production.
Atlantic Lithium’s Ewoyaa Lithium Project site
Project Funding
The development of the project is co-funded under an agreement with NASDAQ and ASX-listed Piedmont Lithium (ASX: PLL), under which Piedmont is required to contribute the first US$70m of Development Costs, as defined in the agreement, as sole funding to complete its earn-in to 50% of Atlantic Lithium's ownership of the project, with all Development Costs and other project expenditure equally shared by both Atlantic Lithium and Piedmont thereafter.
In accordance with the agreement, which is intended to result in the construction of the project and the achievement of initial spodumene production, Piedmont will earn the rights to 50 percent of all spodumene concentrate produced at Ewoyaa at market rates, providing a route to consumers through several major battery manufacturers, including Tesla.
The Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), Ghana’s minerals sovereign wealth fund, has also agreed to invest US$27.9 million at project-level to acquire a 6% contributing interest in the project and Atlantic Lithium’s Ghana Portfolio. The project-level investment represents Stage 2 of its Strategic Investment in the company.
This follows Stage 1 of its Strategic Investment, comprising MIIF’s Subscription for US$5 million Atlantic Lithium shares, which was completed in January 2024, resulting in MIIF becoming a major strategic shareholder in the company.
MIIF’s Strategic Investment is intended to expedite the development of the project towards production.
In addition, noting that Ewoyaa is one of the most advanced undeveloped hard rock lithium projects globally, Atlantic Lithium continues to engage with parties across the battery metals supply chain who express inbound interest in lithium products from Ewoyaa.
In doing so, Atlantic Lithium aims to expedite and de-risk the development of the Project, realise attractive terms for any offtake contracted and secure well-credentialled partners that will support the company's and Ghana's objectives of supplying lithium into the global market.
Ghana
Ghana is a well-established mining region with access to reliable, existing infrastructure and a significant mining workforce. There are currently 16 operating mines in the country.
Already the largest taxpayer and employer in Ghana’s Central Region, Atlantic Lithium is expected to provide direct employment to over 900 personnel at Ewoyaa and, through its community development fund, whereby 1 percent of revenues will be allocated to local initiatives, will deliver long-lasting benefits to the region and Ghana.
Through its proven lithium discovery, exploration and evaluation methodologies, Atlantic Lithium has the potential to capitalise on its extensive exploration portfolio and deliver upon its objectives of becoming a leading producer of lithium in West Africa.
Company Highlights
- A lithium exploration and development company operating in West Africa, Atlantic Lithium is set to deliver its flagship Ewoyaa Lithium Project as Ghana’s first lithium-producing mine.
- The June 2023 definitive feasibility study for the Ewoyaa Lithium Project indicates the production of 3.6 Mt of spodumene concentrate over a 12-year mine life (steady state production of 365,000 tonnes per annum), making it one of the largest mines by production capacity globally.
- The project was awarded a Mining Lease in October 2023, an EPA Permit in September 2024, and a Mine Operating Permit in October 2024. The project is funded under a co-development agreement with Piedmont Lithium.
- The DFS confirms Ewoyaa’s robust commercial viability and profitability potential, driven by the project’s low capital and operating cost profile.
- The project has an updated mineral resource estimate of 36.8 Mt at 1.24 percent lithium oxide.
- Atlantic Lithium holds a portfolio of lithium projects within 509 sq km and 774 sq km of granted and under-application tenure across Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire respectively.
Key Assets
Ewoyaa
Atlantic Lithium's flagship Ewoyaa Lithium Project is situated within 110 kilometres of Takoradi Port and 100 kilometres of Accra, with access to excellent infrastructure and a skilled local workforce.
Atlantic Lithium has been granted a Mining Lease, an EPA Permit and a Mine Operating Permit in respect of the project in October 2023, September 2024 and October 2024, respectively. The company is currently advancing the project towards production.
Highlights:
- Promising DFS Results: Atlantic Lithium's DFS reaffirmed Ewoyaa’s low capital and operating profile and robust profitability. Highlights include:
- Estimated 12-year life of mine, producing 3.6 Mt spodumene concentrate.
- 365 ktpa steady state production
- Robust US$675/t All in sustaining cost and US$377 C1 cash cost.
- Favourable Location: The project's starter pits are positioned within one kilometre of its processing plant. Additionally, Ewoyaa has access to reliable existing infrastructure, located within 800 metres from the N1 highway and adjacent to grid power.
- Promising Reserves: Ewoyaa's current mineral resource estimate (as of July 2024) at is 36.8 Mt at 1.24 percent lithium oxide, of which 81 percent is now in the higher confidence measured and indicated categories (3.7 Mt at 1.37 percent lithium oxide in the measured category, and 26.1 Mt at 1.24 percent lithium oxide in the indicated category, and 7 Mt at 1.15 percent lithium in the inferred category).
- Potential for Further Exploration: There remains significant exploration potential within the company’s 509km2 tenure in Ghana.
- Strong Partnerships: Atlantic Lithium has an offtake deal with Piedmont Lithium, which itself has offtake agreements with both Tesla and LG Chem. Ghana’s Minerals Income Investment Fund has also agreed a Strategic Investment in the company to expedite the development of the project.
- Positive Presence: Atlantic Lithium will generate significant economic benefits for the region. Once operational, the project is expected to employ over 900 personnel and deliver significant value to Ghana, including through taxes, royalties, employment and local procurement.
Côte d'Ivoire
Atlantic Lithium wholly owns two contiguous exploration licences covering an area of c. 771 square kilometres in the mining-friendly jurisdiction of Côte d'Ivoire, which borders Ghana on the West African coast. The two licences offer the company with exclusive rights to apply its proven lithium exploration expertise over new, untested and highly prospective tenure, where the company considers there to be significant lithium discovery potential. The licences, which are located within 100 kilometres of the country's economic capital, Abidjan, are incredibly well-served, with extensive road infrastructure, well-established cellular network and high-voltage transmission lines.
Management Team
Neil Herbert - Executive Chairman
Neil Herbert is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and has over 30 years of experience in finance. He has been involved in growing mining and oil and gas companies, both as an executive and as an investor, for over 25 years.
Until May 2013, he was co-chairman and managing director of AIM-quoted Polo Resources, a natural resources investment company. Prior to this, Herbert was a director of resource investment company Galahad Gold, from which he became finance director of its most successful investment, the start-up uranium company UraMin, from 2005 to 2007. During this period, he worked to float the company on AIM and the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2006, raised US$400 million in equity financing and subsequently negotiated the sale of the group for US$2.5 billion.
Herbert has held board positions at a number of resource companies where he has been involved in managing numerous acquisitions, disposals, stock market listings and fundraisings. He holds a joint honours degree in economics and economic history from the University of Leicester.
Keith Muller - Chief Executive Officer
Keith Muller is a mining engineer with over 20 years of operational and leadership experience across domestic and international mining, including in the lithium sector. He has a strong operational background in hard rock lithium mining and processing, particularly in DMS spodumene processing.
Before joining Atlantic Lithium, he held roles as both a business leader and general manager at Allkem, where he worked on the Mt Cattlin lithium mine in Western Australia and, prior to that, Muller served as operations manager and senior mining engineer at Simec.
Muller holds a Master of Mining Engineering from the University of New South Wales and a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Pretoria. He is also a member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Board of Professional Engineers of Queensland, and the Engineering Council of South Africa.
Amanda Harsas - Finance Director and Company Secretary
Amanda Harsas is a senior finance executive with a demonstrable track record and over 25 years’ experience in strategic finance, business transformation, commercial finance, customer and supplier negotiations and capital management. Before joining Atlantic Lithium, she worked in several sectors, including healthcare, insurance, retail and professional services, across Asia, Europe and the U.S. Harsas holds a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology, Sydney and is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Kieran Daly - Non-executive Director
Kieran Daly is the executive of Growth and Strategic Development at Assore. He holds a BSc Mining Engineering from Camborne School of Mines (1991) and an MBA from Wits Business School (2001) and worked in investment banking/equity research for more than 10 years at UBS, Macquarie and Investec, prior to joining Assore in 2018.
Daly spent the first 15 years of his mining career at Anglo American’s coal division (Anglo Coal) in a number of international roles including operations, sales and marketing, strategy and business development. Among his key roles were leading and developing Anglo Coal's marketing efforts in Asia and to steel industry customers globally. He was also the Global Head of Strategy for Anglo Coal immediately prior to leaving Anglo in 2007.
Christelle Van Der Merwe - Non-executive Director
Christelle Van Der Merwe is a senior manager in the growth & strategic development team at Assore. She has been a geologist for Assore since 2013 and is involved with the strategic and resource investment decisions of the company. Van Der Merwe is a member of SACNASP, the GSSA and AUSIMM.
Jonathan Henry - Independent Non-executive Director
Jonathan Henry is an experienced non-executive director, having held various leadership and board roles for nearly two decades. Henry has significant expertise working across capital markets, business development, project financing, key stakeholder engagement, and the reporting and implementation of ESG-focused initiatives. Henry has a wealth of experience projects towards production and commercialisation to deliver shareholder value.
Henry previously served as non-executive chair and executive chair of Giyani Metals Corporation, a battery development company advancing its portfolio of manganese oxide projects in Botswana, executive chair and non-executive director at Ormonde Mining, non-executive director at Ashanti Gold Corporation, president, director and chief executive officer at Gabriel Resources and various roles, including chief executive officer and managing director, at Avocet Mining. He holds a BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences from Trinity College, Dublin.
Michael Bourguignon – Head of Capital Projects
Michael Bourguignon is a distinguished project management professional with a rich history of leading significant initiatives in the mining and energy sectors. Most recently, he served as the COO at Evolution Energy Minerals in Tanzania, where he managed the optimisation and update of the Definitive Feasibility Study, managed the Front-End Engineering Design package, and oversaw the completion of the Relocation Action Plan and other community-related works.
Prior to this, Bourguignon worked with Rio Tinto in Australia as a consulting construction manager, as well as Glencore’s Mopani Copper Mines in Zambia, where he was the project director for the Mopani Synclinorium Concentrator, and Syrah’s Balama Graphite Mine in Mozambique, where he was project director. He has also previously worked in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire with Perseus Mining. Bourguignon holds an MBA from Murdoch University and is a member of the Australian Institute of Project Management.
Andrew Henry – General Manager, Commercial and Finance
Andrew Henry is an accomplished general manager with over a decade’s experience in the operational mining sector, specialising in strategy, planning and analysis, contracts, large-scale project development and site operations.
Before joining Atlantic Lithium, Henry held the role of commercial manager at global lithium chemicals company Allkem and, prior to that, he spent over four years with major gold mining company Newcrest Mining.
Henry holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of South Australia and is a member of CPA Australia.
Ahmed-Salim Adam – General Manager, Operations
Ahmed-Salim Adam is an experienced mining general manager with over 15 years of experience leading various large-scale projects in Ghana across all stages of mine development, production, and closure, with a focus on safety and sustainability.
Adam has previously held a number of leadership roles, including as senior consultant of Metallurgy at GEOMAN Consult Ltd, as a director for FGR Bogoso Prestea’s Refractory Project and as general manager at Golden Star Resources.
He holds a MPhil Minerals Engineering and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Mineral Engineering, both from the University of Mines and Technology, Ghana. He is also a member of The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) in the United Kingdom and the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) in Australia.
Belinda Gethin – General Manager, Corporate Finance and Company Secretary
Belinda assumed the role of general manager, corporate - finance and company secretary in January 2024, having initially joined the company as financial reporting manager in June 2023. To her role at Atlantic Lithium, Gethin brings a wealth of experience in all aspects of statutory, financial and corporate reporting, including the preparation of financial statements and accounting for complex transactions. Before joining Atlantic Lithium, Gethin worked as the chief financial officer for Lumus Imaging and, prior to that, as the group reporting manager at Healius. Gethin is a chartered accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from UNSW in Sydney, Australia.
Iwan Williams – General Manager, Exploration
Iwan Williams is an exploration geologist with over 20 years' experience across a broad range of commodities, principally iron ore, manganese, gold, copper (porphyry and sed. hosted), PGE's, nickel and other base metals, as well as chromitite, phosphates, coal and diamond.
Williams has extensive southern and West African experience and has worked in Central and South America. His experience includes all aspects of exploration management, project generation, opportunity reviews, due diligence and mine geology. He has extensive studies experience, having participated in the delivery of multiple project studies including resource, mine design criteria, baseline environmental and social studies and metallurgical test-work programmes. He is very familiar with working in Afric,a having spent 23 years of his 28-year geological career in Africa. Williams is a graduate of the University of Liverpool.
Abdul Razak – Exploration Manager, Ghana
Abdul Razak has extensive exploration, resource evaluation and project management experience throughout West Africa with a strong focus on data-rich environments. He has extensive gold experience, having worked throughout Ghana with AngloGold Ashanti, Goldfields Ghana, Perseus and Golden Star, as well as international exploration and resource evaluation experience in Burkina Faso, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Guinea.
Razak is an integral member of the team, managing all site activities including drilling, laboratory, local teams, geotech and hydro, community consultations and stakeholder engagements and was instrumental inthe establishment of the current development team and defining Ghana’s maiden lithium resource estimate.
Building Ghana’s first lithium mine
Expert: African Lithium Key to China's Battery Supply Chain Dominance
“China needs growing feedstock to supply its chemical demand,” Cook explained at Fastmarkets' Lithium Supply & Battery Raw Materials event, “and Africa is of growing importance in fulfilling this gap.”
Between 2025 and 2035, lithium production across Africa is projected to increase by a staggering 127 percent, driven by new mines in Zimbabwe, Mali, Ethiopia and Namibia. Cook highlighted that against that backdrop Africa’s share of global lithium supply will surge from a small fraction today to around 80 percent by 2030.
The motivation for China is clear: the Asian nation cannot meet demand by tapping domestic sources alone. China’s hard-rock lithium supply has a growing deficit that will multiply fivefold by 2035.
“That deficit is growing and is said to be a five times increase from 2020 to 2035,” Cook said, pointing to forecasts of rising chemical demand from Chinese battery producers. As a result, Chinese firms have aggressively invested in African lithium projects, locking up supply in countries with looser regulatory controls and cheaper production costs.
In Zimbabwe and Mali, Chinese ownership of lithium mines is expected to remain significant, even if the share of Chinese-owned production in Africa declines modestly from 79 percent in 2025 to 65 percent by 2035.
“In 2025, African output is set to have 79 percent of it being China owned, and that percentage reduces down to 65 percent in 2035,” Cook stated, adding that overall output will still nearly double.
As a result, total Chinese-controlled volumes will keep rising.
Zimbabwe’s rising role in the lithium sector
Zimbabwe in particular has positioned itself at the heart of Africa’s lithium expansion.
Under its Vision 2030 program, introduced in 2018, the country is aiming to transition to an upper- to middle-income economy by building more domestic value from its minerals. As part of this framework, authorities have prioritized increasing value addition and beneficiation of raw materials as a central pillar of economic growth
Zimbabwe's 2022 ban on raw lithium ore exports, coupled with a planned 2027 ban on concentrate exports, is designed to force local upgrading and refining. Chinese-backed operators have already responded to this move, investing in midstream processing facilities that convert lithium ore into more valuable chemicals.
Cook said there were no surprises in Zimbabwe’s 2027 concentrate ban because Zimbabwe’s largest lithium projects — Arcadia and Bikita — had already planned sulfate plants late last year.
Both projects are already dominated by Chinese investors. In fact, Cook said Zimbabwe could soon become the fifth-largest producer of mined lithium globally, with Chinese interests controlling as much as 90 percent of its output.
Slide from Cook showing Zimbabwe's future lithium supply dominance in Africa.
Image via Georgia Williams.
Despite this surge, Africa’s lithium boom is hardly risk-free. Cook flagged serious challenges in transport, electricity and worker conditions in her presentation at the Fastmarkets conference.
“Local workers often also tend to be within the lower skilled jobs, and unlike the Australian mines, a lot of that work is done manually, which can mean there is an increased risk to personal safety,” she said.
Road bottlenecks and port congestion in countries like South Africa hamper exports, while rolling blackouts push some miners to build their own power infrastructure. However, China’s Belt and Road Initiative is easing some of those pain points, upgrading key transport corridors to keep African lithium flowing.
China pushing to secure lithium supply
Domestically, China is also seeing a shift in how it sources lithium.
Benchmark Mineral Intelligence data shows that brine-based production, once a major source for China, is declining relative to hard rock. By 2035, hard rock will make up the majority of Chinese feedstock.
Cook speaks on stage at the Fastmarkets event.
Image via Georgia Williams.
While the reopening of CATL's (SZSE:300750,HKEX:3750) mine in Jiangxi province this year will help, Cook argued that China is still structurally dependent on Africa and other regions to fill the supply gap.
That dependence, she said, is at the heart of Beijing’s long-term lithium security push. “China is directly investing to secure supply, to get that hard-rock feedstock," she commented.
Future regional lithium players in Africa
While Zimbabwe, along with Mali, is grabbing attention now, Cook forecast that new African lithium suppliers will emerge by 2035, including Ethiopia, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
She also noted potential future lithium supply growth from Rwanda, Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire, even though these countries are still years away from commercial production.
This potential dominance could come with price advantages too.
African lithium projects often have lower upfront costs compared to Australia because of their lower grades and cheaper labor, even though they may face higher impurities and weaker ESG oversight.
“It also means that in terms of pricing, we see that the spodumene price that's coming out of some of these projects is typically around US$20 to US$30 lower than the spot price that you'll see quoted by Newcastle,” Cook noted.
Still, quality issues and chronic underinvestment in African infrastructure could slow progress. Cook emphasized that transport, electricity reliability and governance will determine whether Africa can live up to its lithium promise.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Market Pain, Strategic Gain: Pilbara Minerals' Dale Henderson on Today's Lithium Paradox
Lithium's strong long-term fundamentals
Henderson began by going over key numbers relevant to the lithium sector. According to the CEO, there was a 26 percent year-on-year increase in demand for electric vehicles (EVs) from 2023 to 2024.
Lithium plays a vital role in the production of EVs, as it is a key component of the batteries that power them.
Alongside that EV demand increase, mass energy storage also saw a 51 percent leap.
“I don’t think there’ll be any deniers around the long-term prospects of lithium, but it's worth reflecting on how quickly it’s changing," Henderson told the Fastmarkets audience.
Henderson speaks on stage at the Fastmarkets event.
Image via Georgia Williams.
Looking at areas connected to lithium, Henderson mentioned solar, saying it now surpasses all power-generation technology investment combined. Solar falls under the clean energy umbrella, which receives more than $2.2 trillion in investment per year — twice the amount of investment made in fossil fuels.
“We are witnessing and (are) part of an incredible period. Technology, policy (and) consumer sentiment can continue to drive what is a structural shift towards electrification," he said. "Lithium remains at the center of this shift."
The paradox, according to Henderson, is that while scaling up is happening, prices have been cycling down.
“We’re 12 months into a period of curtailments and reset. And where we are now — we sit deep into the cost curve with price levels, of course, at unsustainable levels for many operators," he noted.
"But these cycles, or these resets, offer a fantastic reset for market, albeit they're painful.”
The Pilbara CEO emphasized that while lithium prices have fallen to “clearly unsustainable” levels, the long-term demand and strategic relevance of lithium will survive it.
“This is not a short-term trend. This is a structural transformation, and lithium remains at core.”
Pilbara Minerals' lithium strategy
Looking over to Pilbara Minerals, Henderson went over its recent achievements and future plans.
“We’re keeping our lives absolutely committed to our strategy,” he said about the company, adding that the past year was Pilbara Minerals' “most transformational year for business.”
Highlights from the period include the acquisition of Latin Resources and its flagship Salinas lithium project in Brazil, which was announced in August 2024 and closed this past February.
The CEO also discussed the company’s flagship Pilgangoora operation, which he described as a globally significant tier-one lithium asset with a mine life of 33 years. Pilgangoora is located 140 kilometers from Port Hedland in Western Australia and is one of the world’s largest hard-rock lithium operations.
Pilbara Minerals has completed two expansions, including the buildout of the world’s largest hard-rock ore-sorting plant, which aims to improve lithium recovery, increase final product quality and reduce energy consumption.
In addition to that, Henderson said Pilbara Minerals boosted its reserves by 23 percent last year.
Furthermore, the company became a lithium hydroxide producer via its partnership with POSCO Holdings (NYSE:PKX,KRX:005490), and is working on a demonstration plant for its midstream project.
In January, the Western Australian government’s Investment Attraction Fund contributed AU$15 million for work at the plant, which is a joint venture with Calix (NYSE:CALX,ASX:CXL).
Henderson said the demonstration plant is currently under construction.
Last year, Pilbara Minerals contributed approximately 8 percent to global lithium supply. The company’s cash balance currently stands at AU$1.1 billion.
Lithium industry must align for success
According to Henderson, certainty and efficient operations are everything in today’s lithium market.
“Government policy is forcing change, both in sticks and carrots, and supply chain diversification is underway, but largely the processing remains very much concentrated," he said.
Henderson highlighted coordination and collaboration as key points, saying that thriving in this environment means building deeper integration across the supply chain.
Lithium industry challenges and opportunities.
Chart via Pilbara Minerals.
He added that the lithium industry is not the first sector to grow from a small base and has yet to mature on a number of dimensions. Henderson summarized his key recommendations into four points:
- Support a central and efficient spot market trading location
- Put a trusted futures exchange in place
- Align on specifications across the lithium product site
- Align on standardized trading terms
He also presented a list of challenges and corresponding opportunities regarding the lithium market, saying that while there’s a lot of pain in the industry, it's also the time for great partnerships to be forged.
“This industry will evolve with or without our stewardship. This is a call to leadership across our group,” he concluded. “The challenge is ours. The opportunity is real. Let's build it together and turn this market pain into a strategic avenue.”
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Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Inside Billionaire Gina Rinehart's Key Mining Investments
In addition to Arafura, entrepreneur Rinehart’s investment portfolio contains other ex-China, green-transition-focused companies like Australian lithium firm Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR,OTC Pink:LINRF), as well as rare earths producers MP Materials (NYSE:MP) and Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC,OTC Pink:LYSCF). Rinehart’s role in the acquisition of Azure Minerals’ Andover lithium project in Western Australia alongside lithium giant SQM (NYSE:SQM) also made headlines.
In this article
- Who is Gina Rinehart?
- How did Gina Rinehart get rich?
- What mining companies does Gina Rinehart own?
- Where does Hancock Prospecting mine iron?
- Gina Rinehart’s iron ore investments
- Gina Rinehart’s lithium investments
- Gina Rinehart’s rare earths investments
- Gina Rinehart’s copper investments
- Gina Rinehart’s oil and gas investments
- Gina Rinehart’s potash and agriculture investments
- FAQs for Gina Rinehart
Who is Gina Rinehart?
Gina Rinehart is an Australian iron ore magnate and the executive chair of Hancock Prospecting, as well as the richest person in Australia and one of the world’s richest women. Rinehart is the daughter of Australian mining mogul and Hancock Prospecting founder, the late Lang Hancock. As the current executive chair of Hancock Prospecting, Rinehart won the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from CEO Magazine in 2019.
Rinehart was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2022 for her “distinguished service to the mining sector, to the community through philanthropic initiatives, and to sport as a patron.”
How did Gina Rinehart get rich?
Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting acquired the Roy Hill tenements in 1993. Centering the massive project as the cornerstone of the company, Hancock Prospecting has greatly benefited from the iron ore market boom that began in the early 2000s.
Today, Roy Hill is Australia’s largest iron ore mine, producing 60 million to 70 million tonnes of iron ore per year. Success at Roy Hill has made Hancock Prospecting Australia’s most valuable private company at an estimated AU$15.6 billion.
As with many of the world’s most successful billionaires, Gina Rinehart has developed an investment strategy based on strategic partnerships as well as diversification to mitigate risk and build value. Under her leadership, Hancock Prospecting Pty Limited (HPPL) as well as the HPPL Group of companies has expanded into some of the world’s most economically important markets, such as real estate, agriculture, energy and critical metals.
For the 2024 fiscal year, Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting reported a bumper profit of AU$5.6 billion, up 10 percent from the previous year.
What mining companies does Gina Rinehart own?
Through her company Hancock Prospecting, Gina Rinehart owns interest in mining companies across many sectors, including iron ore, lithium, rare earths, copper, oil and gas, as well as potash.
While much of her investment portfolio is focused on Australia and ASX companies, Rinehart is actively strengthening the geographical diversification of her investments.
In recent years, Rinehart has made a series of key investments in mining companies, especially targeting critical metals projects in Germany, Brazil, Ecuador and the United States. These include exploration-stage firms such as Titan Minerals (ASX:TTM) and Azure Minerals as well as producers such as Atlas Iron and MP Materials.
Where does Hancock Prospecting mine iron?
Vehicles hauling ore at Roy Hill iron ore mine.
Photo of Roy Hill iron ore mine via Roy Hill.
Hancock Prospecting’s Roy Hill and Hope Downs iron ore mines are in Western Australia's resource-rich Pilbara region.
Roy Hill has attracted strategic partnerships with major global enterprises: Marubeni (TSE:8002) has a 15 percent equity stake, POSCO Holdings (NYSE:PKX,KRX:005490) has a 12.5 percent stake and China Steel (TPE:2002) has a 2.5 percent stake. The minority partners purchase a combined 28.75 million tonnes of iron ore annually from Roy Hill’s production.
In September 2024, Hancock Prospecting got the green light for its AU$600 million McPhee iron mine located about 100 kilometres north of the Roy Hill mine after a long approval process.
The McPhee iron mine is expected to produce around 10 million tonnes of the metal each year over an estimated 15 year mine life. First production is expected to kick off next year, and ore will be transported by road trains to Roy Hill for processing and blending. The goal is to improve the larger mine's product mix and sustain its production volumes.
The Hope Downs iron ore complex is another of Australia’s largest iron ore projects. A 50/50 joint venture partnership with Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO), Hope Downs hosts four open-pit mines and has an annual production capacity of 47 million tonnes. Hope Downs has also been the subject of a more than decade-long civil dispute in a Western Australian court over royalties, put forth by the descendants of Lang Hancock's business partner Peter Wright as well as Rinehart’s own children.
In June 2025, the partners announced a combined investment of US$1.6 billion to develop the Hope Downs 2 iron ore project, a part of the main JV. The project hosts the Hope Downs 2 and Bedded Hilltop deposits, which together will have a total annual production capacity of 31 million tonnes.
Gina Rinehart’s iron ore investments
Gina Rinehart’s iron ore investments in Western Australia extend beyond Roy Hill and Hill Downs to Atlas Iron’s three producing mines and a pipeline of development projects.
Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting acquired Atlas Iron in 2018 through a AU$427 million deal that turned out to be dirt cheap as the company would go on to deliver AU$1.5 billion in revenues over the next three years alone.
Today, Atlas Mines operates the Mount Webber, Sanjiv Ridge and Miralga Creek mines. Production from these mines in its fiscal year ended June 2023 led to a AU$222 million dividend payment for Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting.
As of July 1, 2025, Hancock Prospecting has consolidated its Roy Hill and Atlas Iron under the new name Hancock Iron Ore. The new entity represents combined iron ore exports of about 74 million tonnes per year.
Additionally, Hancock has an earn-in agreement on Legacy Iron Ore (ASX:LCY) and Hawthorn Resources’ (ASX:HAW) Mount Bevan project through its subsidiary Hancock Magnetite Holdings.
At Mount Bevan, as part of its earn-in agreement, Hancock completed a prefeasibility study (PFS) for a 12 million tonne per year high-grade magnetite project in July 2024. The PFS incorporates a resource estimate totalling 1,291 million tonnes, which was completed by Atlas, and delineates a capital cost of AU$5 billion to develop Mount Bevan.
Completion of the PFS increased Hancock’s stake in the joint venture from 30 percent to 51 percent, with Legacy now holding 29.4 percent and Hawthorn holding 19.6 percent.
Like iron, coal is another essential material in steel manufacturing. To this end, Rinehart is also pursuing an investment in a past-producing metallurgical coal mine in Alberta, Canada. Hancock Prospecting subsidiary Northback Holdings is the owner of the proposed Grassy Mountain steelmaking coal project in the province’s Crowsnest Pass region.
Exploration licences for the Northback project were greenlit by Alberta regulators in May 2025.
Gina Rinehart’s lithium investments
Gina Rinehart's lithium investments include Azure Minerals’ (ASX:AZS) Andover lithium project, Liontown Resources, Delta Lithium (ASX:DLI) and Vulcan Energy Resources (ASX:VUL).
The majority of her lithium investments came in a flurry in 2023 and 2024.
In June 2023, Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting signed a separate joint venture earn-in agreement for the Mount Bevan magnetite project discussed above, this time for the lithium, nickel and copper mineralization at the project. The agreement will similarly see Hancock able to earn a 51 percent interest by completing certain milestones.
In September 2023, Rinehart made headlines when she took a position in Liontown Resources and then rapidly increased the position to 19.9 percent over the following month. This allowed Hancock, which was now Liontown's largest shareholder, to effectively block Albemarle’s (NYSE:ALB) accepted takeover of the smaller lithium company.
However, Liontown took a hit as the economics for its near-production Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia were affected by high inflation and low lithium prices. In January 2024, Albemarle decided to sell off its 4 percent stake in Liontown. The lack of any further moves or comment by Rinehart in relation to Liontown Resources has led to speculation she may be waiting for the right opportunity to buy up the lithium company at a discount.
Kathleen Valley entered open-pit production in late July 2024, and is expected to produce approximately 500,000 tonnes per year of spodumene concentrate per year. In April of this year, the operation became Australia's first underground lithium mine when it commenced production from its Mount Mann deposit. Liontown plans to fully transition production to the underground mine in its fiscal 2026.
Albemarle's Liontown acquistion wasn't the only lithium bid Rinehart blocked in October 2023. As is her strategy, Rinehart scooped up an 18.9 percent stake in Azure Minerals after SQM announced its intention for a total takeover of the company and its Andover lithium project in the West Pilbara region of Western Australia.
This story had a different ending, though, as Hancock Prospecting instead joined the lithium giant in a AU$1.7 billion deal to become a co-owner of the exploration-stage Andover project. The deal closed in May 2024.
Shortly after its Liontown and Azure moves, Hancock Prospecting continued investing in Western Australia's lithium prospects when it participated in a AU$70.2 million fundraising for Delta Lithium in November 2023. The proceeds will help Delta Lithium to fund the development of its Mount Ida lithium-gold project, which is adjacent to Hancock's Mount Bevan joint venture project. As of November 2024, Hancock Prospecting owns 10.65 percent of Delta Lithium.
Rinehart has made lithium investments outside of Australia as well. Looking further afield to Germany, with a 7.5 percent stake, Hancock Prospecting is the second largest shareholder in Vulcan Energy and its flagship Zero Carbon lithium project in Germany’s Upper Rhine Valley, a milestone Rinehart's company reached after investing an additional AU$20 million in Vulcan, which made headlines in June 2024. The Zero Carbon project is slated to produce an initial 24,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide by the end of 2025, targeting Europe’s electric vehicle manufacturing sector.
In November 2024, Vulcan Energy reached another major milestone with first production at its downstream lithium hydroxide optimisation plant, which is designed to produce lithium hydroxide and battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate. In May 2025, Vulcan commenced drilling on its first new geothermal energy-lithium well in Landau, Germany, as part of its Phase 1 Lionheart project. The site currently holds four production and re-injection wells and the company aims to add 24 more that will produce hot lithium brine. Vulcan plans to use the new production to increase its geothermal energy production and begin commercial lithium production.
Gina Rinehart’s rare earth metals investments
Facilities at MP Materials' Mountain Pass rare earths mine.
clayton harrison / Shutterstock
Through Hancock Prospecting, Gina Rinehart has made investments in some of the world’s most well known rare earth mineral producing companies — US-based MP Materials and Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths — as well as development-stage Arafura Rare Earths and exploration-stage Brazilian Rare Earths (ASX:BRE). Rinehart taking a position in these rare earths companies shows she is looking to capitalise on the significant need for these critical metals outside of China.
As mentioned in the introduction to this article, Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting is the largest shareholder of Arafura Rare Earths, giving it a 10 percent stake in the advanced-stage Nolans project in the Northern Territory, Australia. Rinehart made the investment in December 2022.
In April 2024, Rinehart made two significant moves into the sector. The first came on April 9, when it was revealed that Hancock Prospecting had acquired a 5.3 percent stake in MP Materials, the second largest rare earths producer outside of China. The company’s California-based Mountain Pass mine is the only integrated rare earth mining and processing operation in North America.
Rinehart’s investment in MP Materials could later bring in “Roy Hill-type cash flow,” Dylan Kelly, head analyst at Terra Capital, told Australian Financial Review. “Anything that is producing and not China-aligned is highly strategic. These materials are very, very hard to make and there’s a lot of demand in making magnets for electric vehicles and wind turbines."
One week later, Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting also took up a 5.82 percent interest in Lynas Rare Earths, the largest ex-China rare earths producer. The Australian rare earths miner produces the critical metals at its Mount Weld mine in Western Australia and ships the raw material to Malaysia for processing. Lynas is also ramping up processing at its Kalgoorlie rare earth processing facility in Australia, and building light rare earths processing facilities and a heavy rare earths separation facility in Texas, US.
Rinehart’s near simultaneous investments in both Lynas and MP Materials comes after merger talks between the two rare earths behemoths stalled in February 2024. There was speculation stirring that Rinehart’s participation could renew merger discussions, Reuters reported.
In November 2024, the mining mogul increased her position in MP Materials to 8.5 percent, further raising the possibility of a merger down the road. As for Lynas, she raised her stake to 7.14 percent in July 2024 and then 8.21 percent in January 2025.
Rinehart is also getting her foot in the rare earths door at the exploration level. In 2023, Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting made a pre-IPO investment for a 5.85 percent share in Brazilian Rare Earths, which went on to list on the ASX in December of that year. The rare earth explorer is working its district-scale Rocha da Rocha rare earth asset in the state of Bahia, Brazil. The province is highly prospective for both heavy and light rare earths, with grades of over 40 percent total rare earth oxides found. Brazilian Rare Earths is working to complete an updated JORC mineral resource estimate.
Gina Rinehart’s copper investments
Gina Rinehart’s copper investments are centered on Ecuador’s Andean copper-gold belt, and include explorer Titan Minerals and Ecuador's state-owned Empresa Nacional Minera (ENAMI).
Ecuador has seen a rush of major mining companies taking up positions in key copper and gold projects in recent years, placing Hancock Prospecting in the company of Barrick Mining (TSX:ABX,NYSE:B), Zijin Mining (HKEX:2899) and Anglo American (LSE:AAL,OTCQX:AAUKF).
Rinehart’s Ecuadorian copper investments are in line with her shift toward the critical metals necessary for the green transition and her strategy to expand the global footprint of her mining empire.
Hancock Prospecting subsidiary Hanrine Ecuadorian Exploration and Mining has been in the region since 2017, and has continued to make more investments. In March 2024, Hancock Prospecting subsidiary Hanrine Ecuadorian Exploration and Mining acquired a 49 percent stake in six mining concessions for AU$186.4 million. The deal sees it partner with state mining company ENAMI for the concessions, which surround the stalled Llurimagua copper-molybdenum project in Northern Ecuador.
In late April 2024, Ecuador’s constitutional court nixed appeals by ENAMI and its partner in the Llurimagua project, Chile’s state-owned CODELCO, to review the March 2023 decision by Imbabura’s provincial supreme court suspending the environmental licence for Llurimagua.
Shortly after the investment with ENAMI, Rinehart's Hanrine made another play in Ecuador by striking an earn-in agreement with Titan Minerals for up to an 80 percent ownership stake in the explorer’s Linderos copper-gold project contingent on up to AU$120 million in exploration spending. Linderos is an early-exploration stage project with the potential to host a large-scale copper porphyry system. Hanrine has made an initial investment of AU$2 million for a 5 percent stake.
Gina Rinehart’s oil and gas investments
Gina Rinehart’s oil and gas investments include private firms Warrego Energy in Western Australia and Senex Energy in Queensland.
In February 2023, Hancock Prospecting won a protracted bidding war for the then-public Warrego with Warrego's joint venture partner Strike Energy (ASX:STX) at a price of AU$0.36 per share. Warrego and operator Strike Energy maintain their 50/50 joint venture on the West Erregulla onshore gas field within exploration permit EP 469 near Perth in Western Australia.
In mid-August 2024, the West Erregulla project received its production licence. During Phase 1, the project is expected to produce 87 terajoules per day.
As for Senex Energy, it is a joint venture between POSCO (50.1 percent) and Hancock Prospecting subsidiary Hancock Energy (49.9 percent) that holds the Atlas and Roma North natural gas developments in Queensland’s Surat Basin. The two JV partners acquired Senex in 2022, with Rinehart’s company putting up AU$440.89 million.
Senex Energy has embarked on a AU$1 billion expansion endeavor at Atlas and Roma North that will see 60 petajoules of natural gas delivered to Australia’s east coast market annually by the end of 2025. This figure represents more than 10 percent of the region’s demand. Regulatory approval for the expansion was finally received following an uphill battle with a Federal government more interested in renewable energy projects than the natural gas variety. Hancock Prospecting reported the first flows of gas production from the expansion field in late November 2024.
Rinehart once had a significant stake of nearly 20 percent in Lakes Oil, now Lakes Blue Energy (ASX:LKO), through subsidiary Timeview Enterprises. Timeview's stake in Lakes Blue Energy has been lowered in recent years, but it remains the company's fourth largest shareholder at 4.63 percent.
In late October 2024, Rinehart offered financial assistance to Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN,OTC Pink:MALRF), a diversified mining company with lithium, iron ore and oil and gas operations in Western Australia. Headed by another mining heavyweight, Chris Ellison, Mineral Resources (MinRes) is reportedly drowning in debt and embroiled in a tax evasion investigation. At that time, Hancock Prospecting agreed to a AU$1.13 billion buyout of MinRes' oil and gas projects in the Perth Basin and an exploration acreage in the Carnarvon Basin.
The 100 percent sale of two of MinRes' exploration permits to Hancock was completed in December 2024 for initial consideration of AU$780 million, with potential for up to AU$327 million depending on whether certain conditions and thresholds are met. The permits include the Moriarty Deep prospect and the Lockyer gas and Erregulla oil discoveries.
Separate to that sale, the two companies are also forming two 50/50 exploration joint ventures for MinRes' remaining permits in the Perth and Carnarvon Basins. Hancock will acquire 50 percent of the MinRes Explorer drill rig, which is the largest in Australia.
Gina Rinehart’s potash and agriculture investments
Gina Rinehart’s potash and agricultural investments center on Hancock Prospecting’s ownership interests in multiple premium cattle stations in Australia, and the company's royalty revenue generated from the Anglo-American-controlled Woodsmith potash project currently under construction in the United Kingdom.
With an original investment of AU$380.6 million in 2016 to then-owner Sirius Minerals, Hancock Prospecting has a 5 percent revenue royalty on the first 13 million tonnes of fertiliser produced from Woodsmith and 1 percent thereafter. Hancock also has a 20,000 tonne per year offtake option. The timeline for Rinehart’s royalty revenue has been pushed back, however, as Anglo is cutting spending at Woodsmith following BHP’s (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BHP) failed mega-merger with Anglo American.
Investor takeaway
With Gina Rinehart at the helm of Hancock Prospecting, the Roy Hill iron ore mine has generated stellar revenues.
That wealth creation not only made her Australia's richest person, but has also built a powerful war chest from which Rinehart is expanding her mining empire.
Investors can take cues from her recent and future moves in the mining sector. Although she may be defensive toward renewable energy technologies encroaching on agricultural land, she understands the strategical importance of investing in critical metals for the green transition such as lithium, rare earths and copper.
FAQs for Gina Rinehart
How much is Gina Rinehart worth?
Gina Rinehart's net worth is reported to be AU$38.11 billion, maintaining her spot as the richest Australian, according to figures from the Australian Financial Review's Rich List 2025. However, her total wealth is down 6 percent over the previous year.
"Iron ore magnate Rinehart has topped the Rich List for the sixth year in a row, but the falling iron ore price has hit the valuation of her Hancock Prospecting, wiping around $2b off her estimated net worth," the list's authors explain.
What company does Gina Rinehart own?
Gina Rinehart owns Hancock Prospecting, a private company founded by her late father Lang Hancock. Originally an iron ore mining company, today the firm has strategic stakes in a wide-range of metals and commodities from lithium and rare earths to copper and agriculture, which are detailed in this article.
Can I buy shares in Hancock Prospecting?
While investors can't buy public shares in privately held Hancock Prospecting, they can take equity positions in the publicly traded stocks in which the company itself holds interest. Some of these stocks include Arafura Rare Earths (ASX:ARU,OTC Pink:ARAFF), Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR,OTC Pink:LINRF), MP Materials (NYSE:MP) and Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC).
Does Gina Rinehart own Rio Tinto?
Although she has interest in many mining companies and the two companies share the Hope Downs joint venture, Gina Rinehart does not own mining giant Rio Tinto. Market Screener reports that Aluminum Corporation of China (SHA:601600) is its largest shareholder at 14.5 percent, followed by BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) and others at around 3 percent and below.
What does Gina Rinehart think about nuclear energy?
Gina Rinehart is pro-nuclear energy. During a speech at The Australian Bush Summit in 2023, she railed against the impact of wind and solar farms on much needed agricultural land in Australia. She suggested that nuclear energy offers a more viable solution for reaching the country's net zero targets.
Is Gina Rinehart the richest person in Australia?
Gina Rinehart is the richest person in Australia with a net worth of AU$38.11 billion. In 2025, she topped the Australian Financial Review's Rich List for the sixth consecutive year in a row. The next richest Australian, real estate developer Harry Triguboff, trails her at AU$29.65 billion.
Is Gina Rinehart the richest woman in the world?
Gina Rinehart is not the richest woman in the world. While she did rank as the world's ninth richest woman in 2024, as of March 2025, she is no longer in the top ten. The distinction of richest woman in the world goes to Walmart (NYSE:WMT) heiress Alice Walton. Rinehart previously held the title in 2012.
This is an updated version of an article first published by the Investing News Network in 2024.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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