Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
Kodal Minerals (LON: KOD) confirmed on Friday that its Bougouni lithium project in southern Mali remains on track for production in the first quarter of 2025 after the mine developer made progress in commissioning activities this week.
In a press release, Kodal said it has begun commissioning the first of two crushing circuits at the Stage 1 dense media separation (DMS) processing plant with a brief successful test on waste rock. Installation of the second crusher module is continuing and is expected to be completed in the next few weeks. In addition, the steelwork for the main DMS building, the screening building and the filtration building is essentially complete.
The focus of installation works has now moved to electrical cabling in the field, motor terminations and piping installations, which, according to Kodal’s CEO Bernard Aylward, is “critical to starting full commissioning of the plant.”
“A short trial run of one of the two crushing modules using waste material was conducted by the site team earlier this week. Although the drives were tested using temporary power, it is very encouraging to see the first pre-commissioning activities commencing in December 2024,” Aylward added.
Meanwhile, open pit mining activities the Ngoualana deposit — the main source of ore for the Stage 1 DMS plant — continue to progress in advance of plant commissioning and future production requirements. Kodal said its mining contractor is now conducting mine operations in a steady state, with in excess of 150,000 tonnes of ore sitting on the ROM (run of mine) pad, grading on average 1.17% Li2O.
On the exploration front, the company is preparing an in-fill and extension drill program for the Boumou deposit, which will be part of the Stage 2 operations, prior to making an update to the JORC mineral resource estimate.
Once in production, the Bougouni project will become the first lithium mine in Mali, with estimated annual spodumene concentrate production of 125,000 tonnes during its first stage. Over this initial four-year period, production will only feature material from the Ngoualana deposit, processed using DMS methods.
Its production is anticipated to rise to 230,000 tonnes during Stage 2 following the introduction of ore from the Boumou and Sogola-Baoulé deposits, to be processed at a downstream flotation plant. Based on current mineral resources, the second stage will have a life of 12 years.
The project has an estimated cost of $65 million and $175 million for each stage, with Stage 1 currently fully funded by Kodal’s Chinese partner Hainan Mining. Stage 2 is expected to be funded by cash flow from the Stage 1 operation.
The joint venture between Kodal and Hainan currently holds 65% of the Bougouni project, with the Mali government owning the other 35%.
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