Greetings Contrarian,

This is The Next Big Rush, your daily drop of mining/energy investing news. Where we come together and pretend we are shocked by the news.

Here are the "surprising" ones:

😳 Ghana Eyeing Local Lithium Project

😳 Glencore Sued By Shareholders

😳 Gold Hits Of The Week

👍🏻 Ghana Eyeing Local Lithium Project

Atlantic Lithium (LON: ALL) (ASX: A11), an Australian exploration and development company, is in talks with Ghana's state-owned Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) for potential funding of up to $30 million.

The funding would help to develop the Ewoyaa project in central Ghana, which is set to be the country's first lithium mine.

According to Atlantic Lithium, the Ewoyaa project has the potential to generate almost $5 billion in revenue over its 12.5-year lifetime. The MIIF has confirmed plans to take an equity stake in Atlantic Lithium and the company has agreed to list on the Ghana Stock Exchange.

The resource update for the Ewoyaa project, which was released in early February, shows a mineral resource estimate of 35.3 million tonnes at 1.25% lithium oxide. This includes 28 million tonnes in the measured and indicated categories.

Atlantic Lithium believes that mining the battery metal could be a partial solution for Ghana to diversify its exports, which are currently focused on gold and cocoa production.

The company changed its name from IronRidge Resources and spun off its gold assets into a separate company to focus on the production of the battery metal.

💩 Glencore Gets Slapped

Ah, Glencore (LON: GLEN), the gift that keeps on giving not just dividends – but lawyer billables, that is. The mining and commodities juggernaut is now facing yet another lawsuit in the UK related to alleged losses to shareholders due to the company's involvement in bribery.

Legal & General Group has filed a claim against Glencore in London's High Court, adding to the pile of lawsuits brought by investors since the company shelled out $1.5 billion to settle investigations in the US, Brazil and the UK. So much for turning over a new leaf, eh?

Details of the claim are still under wraps, but sources familiar with the matter suggest it's related to Glencore's guilty plea for market manipulation and bribery. Oh, joy. Just what we all needed in this business.

Meanwhile, Glencore reported adjusted EBITDA of $34.1 billion this week, which is a 60% increase from its previous record of $21.3 billion in 2022. And what better way to celebrate such good news than with a fresh lawsuit?

Let's not forget that the UK Serious Fraud Office forced Glencore to pay $308 million for bribing its way across Africa just last year. And to top it off, the company is still under investigation by Swiss and Dutch authorities.

Glencore says the timing of those probes is uncertain and that it expects any possible resolution to avoid duplicate penalties for the same conduct.

Brilliant.

💹 Hits of The Week - Gold

How awesome is this WEEKEND going to be?

The Editor

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.