Kodal Minerals PLC (AIM:KOD) CEO Bernard Aylward talked with Proactive about the latest developments at the Bougouni Lithium Project in Mali. The update follows a high-profile site visit by Mali’s Minister of Mines and the regional governor, underlining government support for the project.
Aylward said the visit reaffirmed the importance of Bougouni for both the local community and Mali’s broader mining ambitions. “The Minister of Mines had actually met with the president, discussed our situation, and came back to remark that a fast-track process was in place,” he said.
Kodal has completed all required demonstrations to government officials, including operational success at the processing plant and the accumulation of 42,000 tonnes of spodumene ready for export. Aylward noted the urgency of securing the export licence, as storage space is now limited.
He also provided an update on site activities, confirming that despite the wet season causing some flooding and delays, mining is continuing. The company is addressing a temporary shortage of explosives due to regulatory changes, while also progressing workforce development by training local staff to operate the plant.
Kodal Minerals expects to report back soon with updates on the export permit and continued ramp-up.
Proactive: Bernard, very good to speak with you. You're out with an update on your Bougouni project today, including a visit by Mali’s Mines Minister and the governor of the Bougouni region. What feedback did they give you? And how important is their support to the project's momentum?
Bernard Aylward: Look, we've always found that we've had very strong support from both the regional level and the governor. His team have always been very positive towards us and very proactive in their help. The Minister of Mines has also always been a supporter of ours. And for us, this visit was just another step to emphasize the importance of the project that we're delivering for the community and for Mali. We're seeing strong support from government officials and the region to make sure that we get this up and running properly.
This visit followed on from a couple of visits from the DNGM (Direction Nationale de la Géologie et des Mines), the mining bureaucracy. We've answered all the queries, we've shown and demonstrated the plant operating successfully. Clearly, when they're on site, they're able to see at least 42,000 tonnes of spodumene that really we're running out of room to store. We need to get the export happening as soon as possible.
It was a really good opportunity for our team to demonstrate that to the government officials, to speak to them directly and highlight our requirement for the export to commence as soon as possible.
Proactive: I mean, how soon do you expect that export permit to be granted, Bernard?
Bernard Aylward: Look, it's been a process that we've been working through for a while now. We've had, as I mentioned, various visits from government officials. We've had meetings with the Minister of Finance. On all levels we're getting that support and positive affirmation that we'll be receiving the license as soon as possible. Following the visit that took place late last week, our team met again with the Minister of Mines in Bamako. They reported back to me that the Minister of Mines had actually met with the president, discussed our situation, and came back to remark that a fast-track process was in place. So while there's never a fixed timeline, we know we have the support from everyone involved in trying to get this complete.
Proactive: In the meantime, could you update us on what's happening on the ground at the project, Bernard, and in particular the impact that the wet season might have had on you?
Bernard Aylward: Yeah. Look, it's a typical time of year in Mali – it's the wet season. We've had quite a bit of heavy rain on site. Perhaps not as much as last year, but again, we've had some inundation into the pit. We're busy pumping that out now. There's been a bit of a delay in getting back onto the ore body.
However, we're still mining and we're still moving the free dig and expanding the pit to the ultimate expected boundary. We'd like to get back into mining ore again as soon as possible. Again, in Mali, we've had some issues surrounding increased government control on explosives, and our contractor is working closely with the government to make sure we have enough on site as soon as we can get back onto ore and start blasting.
We're still processing. We still have material on the ROM. We're taking the opportunity to make sure we train up the local team to run the process plant as a fully Malian-employed team. Things are going well on site. We really would love just to be driving the material down to port.
Proactive: Well Bernard, I hope you continue to keep us updated with progress and particularly with that export permit. Great speaking with you today.