JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – West Africa-focused mineral exploration company Kodal Minerals on Tuesday announced further wide, high-grade lithium mineralised drill intersections at the Ngoualana prospect, at its Bougouni lithium project, in Southern Mali.

The assay results continue to confirm the high-grade and consistent mineralisation of the Ngoualana pegmatite that currently remains open along strike and at depth. 

The intersections have been reviewed against the logged geology to confirm zones and the duplicate sampling reviewed to confirm reliability of information.

The 1% lithium oxide (Li₂O) lower cutoff is regarded as a high limit for reporting and reflects the nature of the spodumene-rich pegmatite units and the consistency of the mineralised zones.

The pegmatite veins intersected by drilling at Bougouni are spodumene-rich low mica pegmatite bodies.

The high-grade lithium mineralisation returned in the assays compares favourably with other hard-rock spodumene mineralised pegmatite veins under development around the world where grades range from 1.1% Li₂O to 1.4% Li₂O.

The intersections have been estimated using a 1% Li₂O lower cutoff, and have consistently high mineralisation throughout the pegmatite bodies.

"In addition to this major drilling campaign, we have been undertaking metallurgical testing and a review of the logistics for mining in the Bougouni region. Our exploration is at an early stage; however, we are ensuring that we are maintaining a very fast pace to move rapidly through the mining development phases,” CEO Bernard Aylward said.

The Bougouni project comprises two concessions, the Kolassokoro and Madina concessions, which cover a contiguous area of 500 km².

Kodal has been exploring the concessions since September 2016 and has completed geological reconnaissance, rock chip sampling, geophysical review and trench sampling.

The exploration activities continue to enhance the project, with numerous exploration targets developed and drill results confirming high-grade mineralisation.