Name of the Project
Bougouni lithium project.

Location
Southern Mali.

Project Owner/s
Mineral exploration and development company Kodal Minerals’ Mali-registered mining company, Les Mines de Lithium de Bougouni (LMLB). LMLB is a subsidiary of Kodal Mining UK, in which Kodal has a 49% shareholding.

Project Description
Bougouni’s mineral resource comprises three advanced prospects – Sogola-Baoulé, Ngoualana and Boumou.

Stage 1 of the project will include the processing of coarse-grained spodumene material from the Ngoualana deposit, feeding one-million tonnes a year of lithium ore to a dense-media separation (DMS) processing plant. A conventional circuit will be used to maximise spodumene recovery of more than 125 000 t/y of spodumene concentrate. 

Stage 1 will have an initial four-year life-of-mine (LoM).

Stage 2 will comprise a downstream 350 000 t/y flotation plant that will exploit the finer-grained spodumene resources at Sogola-Baoulé and Boumou, and Bougouni's longer-term exploration prospects. Processing material from Boumou and Sogola-Baoulé deposits will feed two-million tonnes a year of lithium ore to the flotation plant; output from the deposits is estimated at 230 000 t/y.

Stage 2 will have 12-year LoM.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Stage 1 involves low capital expenditure of $60-million to $70-million.

Stage 2 will cost about $175-million and will be funded with cash flow from Stage 1.

Planned Start/End Date
Construction on the Bougouni project started in mid-2024. Kodal Minerals produced the first spodumene concentrate in February 2025.

Latest Developments
Kodal Minerals’ maiden shipment of 28 950 t of lithium spodumene concentrate (vessel capacity) was loaded onto a dedicated bulk cargo vessel at the Port of San Pedro, in Côte d’Ivoire.

The vessel arrived on November 9 and the loaded vessel subsequently departed on November 30, bound for the destination port in Hainan province, China.

Following completion of loading, LMLB will submit an invoice for the initial 95% of the cargo value with offtake partner Hainan Mining.
LMLB is subsequently due to receive the first payment from this shipment for a total expected value of about $24-million.

The focus of LMLB’s operations over recent weeks has been the transport of more than 30 000 t of lithium spodumene concentrate from the Bougouni project to its dedicated stockpile facility at the Port of San Pedro, an estimated 880 km road journey, ahead of first shipment.

This successful transport operation, as well as the subsequent loading and departure of the vessel from the port, highlights the effectiveness of the transport route, Kodal Minerals has said.

To date, the Stage 1 DMS processing plant at Bougouni has produced more than 45 000 t of lithium spodumene product, grading an average lithium oxide content of 5.39%.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Kodal Minerals, tel +44 20 3463 2260.