29 Jan Kodal Minerals submits mining licence application for Mali lithium project
London-listed exploration and development firm Kodal Minerals has submitted a mining licence application for its Bougouni lithium project in Mali.
As part of its mining licence application, Kodal completed a feasibility study for the project and submitted its contents to the Mali Government.
The study envisages an open pit operation with a minimum mine life of 8.5 years, producing an average of 220,000 tonnes of 6% spodumene concentrate per annum.
Bougouni’s life of mine (LOM) revenue will exceed US$1.4 billion with an initial concentrate sales price of $680 per tonne, based on operations beginning in the second half of next year.
Kodal also outlined plans to build a two million tonnes (Mt) per year processing plant utilising a conventional flotation circuit to maximise spodumene recovery.
CEO Bernard Aylward said: “The lodging of the application marks the culmination of a period of intensive work by our project development team, led by Steve Zaninovich, and highlights the viability of a commercial mining operation at the project.
“The current project design captures approximately 16Mt of ore from our announced 21Mt resource base, representing a very good conversion, and we expect to be able to add to our defined resources through further drilling.”