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Kodal Minerals (LSE: KOD) may delay first production from its Bougouni lithium project in southern Mali due to heavy rainfall in the region affecting transport routes. The mine was originally scheduled to enter production in the fourth quarter.
In a project update issued Thursday, Kodal Minerals’ CEO Bernard Aylward said that delays in shipping and transport to the site could lead to a potential delay in first production by a few weeks to early Q1 2025.
Despite the impact of the schedule delays, the company says the project remains on target to meet its $65 million development budget. The project is being funded by China’s Hainan Group, which owns a 51% interest.
First shipments of critical long lead equipment items for the Stage 1 processing plant have already arrived at the Abidjan Port in Côte d’Ivoire and are being transported to the mine site.
In order to mitigate the impact of potential delays to the commissioning of the processing plant, the company said it will arrange for temporary hired generators to conduct the pre-commissioning of equipment in advance.
Meanwhile, Kodal is continuing open pit mining activities at Ngoualana, one of three deposits comprising the project, with pre-stripping of free-dig material essentially complete. This work is ahead of schedule, and the company said it’s confident that stockpiles of pegmatite ore will be available ahead of commissioning.
The company is also awaiting results from 2,000 metres of drilling at Bougouni, after which it plans to provide a new resource estimate. The project currently has 31.9 million tonnes in total resources at 1.06% lithium oxide, specific to the Ngoualana and Boumou deposits.
Kodal also said it remains in discussions with the Malian government regarding the transfer of the Bougouni mining licence to the newly established venture with Hainan, and expects to reach an agreement next month.
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