Kodal Minerals PLC (LON:KOD) has published a first mineral resource for its Bougouni lithium project in Southern Mali.
Based on the three most advanced prospects, Bougouni has an inferred 17.3mln tonnes (Mt) at a grade of 1.2% lithium. A resource of that size places the project among the top 15 hard rock lithium deposits worldwide. The majority of the resource so far is located at the Sogola-Baoule site.
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Bernard Aylward, chief executive, said the resource confirmed the potential for a mine development, while early-stage engineering forecasts showed it can run for a minimum of ten-years with low capital costs.
Aylward added all of the prospects remain open along strike and at depth, offering the possibility of significant additional resources.
New drill targets had already been identified from preliminary open pit optimisation work.
Engineering consultant Wave International, meanwhile, has indicated a capital cost of A$14Mln for a 1Mtpa dense media separation plant component.
A full plant will also require a crushing circuit and additional materials handling components.
The Wave review indicated a potential production cost of US$400 per tonne of spodumene concentrate, which compares to a current market selling price of between US$800 and US$900 per tonne.
Aylward added Kodal was in a very fortunate position of having secured an off-take partner already alongside strong commitments of support within Mali.
"This is a very exciting phase for the project.," said Aylward.
“Our preliminary mining and processing studies highlight a potential long-life mine producing a high grade, low impurity spodumene concentrate demanded by the market.
“The next stages of work at Bougouni will be the continued exploration and definition drilling, upgrade of the Mineral Resource estimate to Indicated status, continued study on the open pit optimisation with a focus on reducing mining costs and finally continued metallurgy studies to optimise the processing plant."