Name of the Project
Bougouni lithium project.

Location
The project is located in southern Mali.

Project Owner/s
Kodal Minerals. Singapore-based Suay Chin holds 29.02% in Kodal.

Project Description
The feasibility study for the Bougouni lithium project proposes an openpit contract mining operation and conventional milling and flotation processing facility, capable of treating two-million tonnes a year of ore, complete with asso­ciated infrastructure to mine and process about 16-million tonnes of pegmatite ore over an initial 8.5-year mine life.

Production will average 220 000 t/y of 6% spodu­mene concentrate.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an estimated net present value, at a 7% discount rate, of $300-million and an after-tax internal rate of return of 51%, with a payback of 1.7 years.

Capital Expenditure
The project is estimated at $117-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Kodal aims to have the mine in production in the second half of 2021.

Latest Developments
Kodal Minerals has said that it is making progress with its mining licence application for the Bougouni lithium project, as well as with regard to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) entered into with Sinohydro and its gold exploration activities.

The Mali Transition Government is now fully active and progress on the mining licence application has restarted.

“The mining licence application continues and Kodal can confirm that all government documents have been updated to reflect the changes to the Mali Transition Government Ministry and the operation of the Constitution and the Charter of Transition.

“The documents are pending signing by the new Minister, which will then allow for the company to receive notification of requirement to pay for the mining licence,” Kodal CEO Bernard Aylward comments.

Further, the company has announced the drawdown of $750 000 as the second and final advance of the $1.5-million unsecured convertible loan agreement with Riverfort Global Opportunities and YA II PN.

Completing this final advance of the loan agreement enables Kodal to continue its exploration and development programmes for the Bougouni lithium project, including planning of further engineering design and metallurgical testwork to optimise the process plant design.

The project development work will be completed in conjunction with the review and assessment of the project by Sinohydro under the MoU.

Under the terms of the MoU announced on September 1, Sinohydro is conducting an initial technical review and holding discussions with Kodal before starting field visits and starting fieldwork in November.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

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