Pre-resource curse and suspended futures
Socioeconomic and psychosocial impacts of a stalled critical mineral project in Ghana
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22030239 |
|---|---|
| Authors | John Boakye-Danquah (0000-0002-9000-1255, University of Saskatchewan, corresponding author), Felicitas Egunyu (0000-0002-5961-9065, Environment and Climate Change Canada), Mary Sefa Boampong (0000-0002-3969-9969, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology), Yaw Agyeman Boafo (0000-0003-1430-7655, University of Ghana) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Pages | 101988 |
| Publication date | 2026-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Extractive Industries and Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2214-790X • E-ISSN: 2214-7918 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.exis.2026.101988 |
| OpenAlex | W7165661873 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 14 |
The green energy transition and advances in technology have intensified demand for critical minerals, triggering a global race to expand mining, processing and secure supply chains. Africa is estimated to hold 30 percent of the world’s critical minerals, making the continent a key focus in the evolving geopolitics of energy transition. Since 2019, several African countries have entered into agreements on critical minerals with countries and regions such as the United States, China, and the European Union. However, these agreements have been criticized for prioritizing external supply chain security over local development outcomes. At the same time, the existence of such agreements does not guarantee that projects will be develped or that host communities will benefit. Critical minerals projects are often exposed to price volatility, financing risks, technological change, and shifting market demand, increasing the risk of project delays, suspension or cancellations. In this paper, we examine how delays and uncertainties in critical mineral project development generate socio-economic and psychosocial impacts on host communities, conceptualised through a micro-level pre-resource curse lens. We focus on the Atlantic Lithium Ewoyaa project in Ghana which has stalled for the past three years due to regulatory delays and lithium price fluctuations. Using a mixed methods approach, we demonstrate how prolonged uncertainty, compensation delays, and land-use moratoria has disrupted livelihoods, curtailed future aspirations, and affected host communities’ psychosocial wellbeing. The findings suggest that without deliberate safeguards to account for host communities’ interests, critical mineral developments risk reproducing old extractive injustices under new green narratives
Curse · Economic impact analysis · Psychosocial · Resource curse · Socioeconomic status · Hydropower, Displacement, Environmental Impact · Mining and Resource Management · Natural Resources and Economic Development
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |