Kodal Minerals release update on Bougouni Lithium Project
Kodal Minerals has released an update on the Bougouni Lithium Project in Southern Mali citing satisfactory progress of the project development activities.
Bernard Aylward, CEO of Kodal Minerals, pointed out that the project remains on schedule for first production by the end of 2024. He acknowledged the minor delays in shipping but assured that these would not impact the overall production timeline.
This project is being developed through the Hainan funding transaction, announced on November 15, 2023, which involved a US$100 million investment into Kodal Mining UK Limited (KMUK). KMUK is owned 51% by the Hainan group and 49% by Kodal Minerals.
Shipment
The shipping of the dense media separation (DMS) processing plant and crushing circuit modules is progressing, albeit with minor delays. These delays were due to the vessel being diverted to Freetown, Sierra Leone, to offload urgent humanitarian cargo. The vessel has since resumed its journey to Abidjan port in Côte d’Ivoire.
The shipment includes structural steelwork fabrication completed in June. A second shipment, currently en route to Abidjan port via Walvis Bay port in Namibia, contains the remainder of the processing plant equipment, initial consumables for the DMS plant, spare parts, and chemical laboratory and site equipment.
The mining consortium, comprising Auxin Mining Services Mali SARL and Enterprise Générale Traoré et Frères SARL (EGTF), is making good progress with mining at the Ngoualana pit. Civil construction, managed by Bambara Resources SARL and its key subcontractor, GZB Mali (part of the Gezhouba Group from China), has completed all major footings for the DMS plant, preparing for the arrival and erection of the steelwork.
