Kodal Minerals, a mineral exploration and development company, has been granted a mining licence for its flagship Bougouni Lithium Project in Mali
The project is now fully permitted for development with the previous approval of the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) in November 2019.
The mining licence granted to Kodal Minerals' Mali subsidiary company, Future Minerals SARL and is valid for an initial 12-year term and renewable in 10-year blocks until all resources mined. The licence is granted under the 2019 Mining Code and extends over 97.2 sq km covering the proposed opencast mining and processing operation at Bougouni.
As a next step, Kodal has commenced a programme of work to update the feasibility study announced in January 2020 ahead of securing funding for mine development and construction. The programme has a six-month time estimate and will focus on:
- Metallurgical test work for variability testing and confirmation of process flowsheet, investigating the potential for increased metallurgical recoveries.
- Completion of geotechnical and hydrogeological reviews for opencast and the tailings dam.
- Update and finalisation of capital cost estimates and operating costs for the proposed development.
- Community development and stakeholder engagement activities at Bougouni.
Bernard Aylward, CEO, Kodal Minerals, commented, “The granting of the mining licence for Bougouni has come at a great time for Kodal with the increasing global focus on battery metals and the recognition of potential supply deficits highlighting the value of our fully permitted Bougouni Lithium Project.”
“The timing of Kodal's permitting and potential development timeline highlight how well positioned our Bougouni project is to capitalise on the widely forecast lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate shortages which are expected by 2023.”
