Ghana – Ewoyaa Lithium Project (“Ewoyaa”)Piedmont and its...

Ghana – Ewoyaa Lithium Project (“Ewoyaa”)

Piedmont and its partner, Atlantic Lithium (AIM: ALL; ASX: A11) (“Atlantic”), continue to advance development of the Ewoyaa project in Ghana. Atlantic announced recently that the Minerals Income Investment Fund of Ghana (“MIIF”) completed a $5 million investment in Atlantic and discussions continue regarding MIIF’s potential investment of $27.9 million directly into Ewoyaa for a 6% project stake, which would reduce funding requirements for Piedmont and the project’s other partners.

Construction at Ewoyaa is targeted to commence in 2025 following receipt of required permits and approvals, which are expected later in 2024. Piedmont expects Ewoyaa funding will be minimal in 2024 and is evaluating a range of options that would be non-dilutive to Piedmont shareholders to fund its share of project capital in 2025 and beyond. Piedmont expects to submit a formal application for the Ewoyaa project debt financing later this quarter to the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. The size and terms of any such arrangement will be the subject of due diligence and negotiation, but customary project financing could account for a majority of project capital. Separately, Piedmont is exploring possible funding related to its 50% offtake interest in the project. Of note, Atlantic recently announced completion of Stage 1 of a competitive offtake partnering process for the 50% of the Ewoyaa material controlled by the joint venture.

“We are excited about the potential of the Ewoyaa project,” commented Mr. Phillips. “Based on technical studies, Ewoyaa is expected to be a large operation offering the potential of a high return on invested capital given its relatively low capex and opex profile.