Kodal Minerals PLC (LON:KOD) continues to advance and de-risk its flagship Bougouni lithium project in southern Mali, chief executive Bernard Aylward highlighted in a new operations update.
The aspiring miner has recently completed a site visit for its envisaged port infrastructure, has progressed other logistics matters and has continued to optimise its mine engineering plans.
A bulk sample of lithium containing material is currently being shipped to China where it will be processed in a concentrator plant as a test (to deliver ‘plant scale’ recovery data for both Kodal and its offtake partner).
"We are continuing to de-risk our flagship asset, the Bougouni Lithium Project, through the completion of our engineering studies,” Aylward said.
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“This important technical work represents significant components of our upcoming Feasibility Study and we are using the most experienced consultants to ensure we achieve the best result.
“The finalisation of the metallurgical test work programme, the review of the proposed transport, port facilities and mining contractors all feed into our mining optimisation studies and scheduling that will complete the feasibility work.”
Elsewhere, exploration efforts continue within Bougouni as wells as in the Marigo prospect area, Mafele and the Bougouni West projects.
Bougouni project development
Kodal staff recently completed a site visit to the San Pedro port in Côte d'Ivoire. They engaged with port authorities about the potential export of concentrate materials from the port. The company highlighted that ‘full support and availability’ was confirmed.
It also noted that a survey of the proposed transport route from Bougouni to San Pedro has been completed to successfully confirm suitability for bulk commodity transport.
The company has received indicative pricing for transporting its concentrate product via talks with an experienced shipping and logistic service company.
A bulk sample of material was loaded onto a ship in Dakar which has now departed for China, due to arrive in Shandong province by mid-October. From there, it will be transported to the Ruifu Chemical lithium concentrator plant which has capacity to process for 2mln tonnes per year.
It is planned that Kodal’s concentrate material will be treated through the plant and all stages of processing will be monitored. Kodal’s own project management staff and engineering consultants will be present on-site.
At Bougouni, work continues to improve open pit optimisation studies, following on from talks with Malian mining contractors which confirmed competitive mining costs.
Exploration
Kodal highlighted that it has received final assay results from a programme completed before the wet season.
Results have confirmed broad zones of mineralisation at Marigo, plus low-level mineralisation via reconnaissance work in the Mafele area.
Drilling at Marigo, part of the broader Bougouni, yielded highlight results including 42 metres of mineralisation containing 0.22% lithium oxide, from a depth of 54 metres in drill hole MDRC131.
Another hole, MDRC132, cut 17 metres of mineralisation with a grade of 0.35% lithium oxide from a depth of 58 metres and also 31 metres at 0.23% from a depth of 91 metres.
Elsewhere, reconnaissance sampling work has been completed at the Dabakala and Korhogo concession areas in Côte d'Ivoire.
Results over a ‘coherent gold anomaly’ at Dabakala confirmed more than 10 kilometres of strike, with sample assays showing up to 97 ppb (parts per billion), while results from Korhogo showed anomalous ones extending 2 kilometres with assays showing 83 ppb.