Mrs Alexandra Amoako-Mensah, discoverer of Lithium in Ghana

Mrs Amoako Mensah with CEO of Atlantic Lithium Keith Muller

In the heavily male-dominated geological industry in Ghana, one female stands out with a huge mark, creating an incredible path for others to emulate.

Geologist Mrs Alexandra Amoa­ko-Mensah’s thesis in the 1970s led to the discovery of lithium in Ghana.

In her desperation to explore Ghana’s natural resource potential beyond the gold industry, an ambi­tious Amoako-Mensah engaged in a research-based thesis, supervised by Dr Oleg Von Knorring with the title, ‘Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Spodumene Pegmatites with Particular Reference to Spodumene Occurrences at Saltpond, Ghana.’ The thesis was published in 1971.

Spodumene pegmantites are gen­erally known to be the main hard rock that houses the element lithium, which has realised a massive surge in demand for its use in electric vehicle batteries, globally considered to be essential in the transition to green energy era to combat climate change.

During her research which took place at Ewoyaa in the Central region, Mrs Amoako-Mensah had to surmount numerous physical and psychological challenges in order to complete the thesis.

“I went through a thick forest in search of spodumene-bearing pegma­tites, relying solely on a hand-held compass and the unusual nature of my profession at the time attracted curious glances from colleagues and onlookers alike,” she said.

Little did she know that, her time-consuming and back-breaking research would be crucial in Ghana’s discovery of lithium which would es­sentially improve the socio-economic status of the country.

In 2016, following the discovery of lithium in West Africa, established geologist, Len Kolff in his search for pegmatite potential areas on the con­tinent, came across Mrs Amoako-Men­sah’s thesis.

The thesis, which focused on the region’s mineralogy, geochemistry and petrology, provided Kolff, now Head of Business Development and Chief Geologist at Atlantic Lithium, clear un­derstanding on the potentials of Salt­pond’s spodumene pegmatite which led to Ghana’s first official discovery of lithium in 2018.

Kolff said after the discovery, “Mrs. Amoako-Mensah’s thesis gave an in-depth insight into the mineralogy of pegmatites in the Saltpond area. This was critical to understanding the eco­nomic potential of the area’s lithium pegmatites, which proved to be a key part of the puzzle in the discovery of Ewoyaa.”

“Without Mrs. Amoako-Mensah’s thesis and the regional mapping that she completed, we may never have travelled to Ghana for the first time to follow up on it,” he added.

Fast forward, in October 2023, over five decades after Mrs Amoako-Men­sah’s thesis, the government of Ghana granted Barari DV Ghana Limited (At­lantic Lithium’s Ghanaian subsidiary) a Mining Lease in respect of the Ewoyaa Lithium Project, putting the project firmly on track to become Ghana’s first lithium mine.

The project valued over US$5 billion is estimated to generate over 800 direct jobs for Ghanaians.

“I never envisaged that my work would contribute to Ewoyaa becom­ing a mining area and the focus of national discussions about lithium production. During my recent visit, I was amazed at the tremendous change that is underway at Ewoyaa and that, no doubt, will soon come from the commencement of lithium mining operations,” Mrs Amoako-Mensah men­tioned during a recent visit by Atlantic Lithium to the Project site.

“I am excited because my project work has yielded fruit that will benefit Ghanaians. I am grateful to God that I am alive to experience lithium mining in Ghana,” she added.

She was a geologist at the former Geological Survey Department (now the Geological Survey Authority of Ghana) from 1966 to 1972, where she climbed the ranks to become the Head of the GSD’s laboratories at its head­quarters in Accra and in Saltpond.

From 1972-1997, she worked at the former Industrial Research Institute (now Institute of Industrial Research of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research; ‘CSIR’), where she rose to the position of Chief Research Officer.

During her time at the institute, she became Head of the Material Science Division, before serving as a Director from 1987 to 1997. She then served as Director at the CSIR Head Office from 1997 until her compulsory retirement in 2000.

She also served on the boards of many local and international com­panies and technical committees, including the United Nations (UN) Scientific and Technical Committee on the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR), the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), the Minerals Commission and the Governing Council of GNPC Learn­ing Foundation.

She was also the Secretary General of the Geological Society of Africa be­tween 1988 and 1993 and President of the Ghana Institution of Geoscientists from 2006 until 2017.

She is the sixth of nine children, born in Takoradi to parents Samuel Sey Afful and Mary Amoasiwa Quaye Afful from Apam in the Central region.

She went to Wesley Girls’ High School, Cape Coast in 1960 where she was awarded a scholarship to read Geology at the St. Petersburg State University in Russia.

She returned to Ghana in 1966 and joined the Ghana Geological Survey where she met Prof. Shacketon, a visiting professor at the University of Ghana. Upon recognising her po­tential, Prof Shackleton offered her admission to Leeds University, UK to unable her advance in her academic research.

Supported by her late husband, Dr Alfred Kwadwo Archer Amoako-Men­sah, she travelled to Leeds to pursue a Master of Philosophy in Geochemistry in 1971.

Currently, Mrs. Amoako-Mensah serves as the Board Chairperson of SAL Consult Limited, a multi-disciplinary water and environmental consultancy company, and remains a member of Women in Mining, Ghana.

Now 83 and a proud mother to her four sons, Alfred, Michael, Samuel and Joseph-Emmanuel, Mrs. Amoako-Men­sah resides in Accra.

By Michael D. Abayateye