PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Minerals explorer Birimian has terminated a A$107.5-million agreement with Shandong Mingrui Group for its Bougouni lithium project, in Mali.
Birimian earlier this month signed a letter of intent with Shandong, under which the Chinese company would obtain the Bougouni project, subject to a number of conditions, including the receipt of a A$10.75-million deposit before January 20.
ASX-listed Birimian reported on Monday that owing to increasing regulatory protocols on the transfer of funds from China, the deposit had not been received, and the letter of intent had been terminated.
“We believe our Bougouni lithium project is a high-quality, company-making asset. It is among the highest grade lithium projects of significant size world-wide today,” said Birimian MD Kevin Joyce.
“We have made great progress over the past ten months advancing the project from greenfields discovery. We are very keen to accelerate development towards commercialisation in the year ahead, and will continue to assess development options in this regard.”
The Bougouni project hosts the Goulamina lithium deposit, which is estimated to host a mineral resource of some 15.5-million tonnes, grading 1.48% lithium oxide for 229 999 t of contained lithium oxide.
A prefeasibility study and maiden reserve estimate are expected in the June quarter.