Kodal Minerals shares were unmoved by the latest update on the company’s lithium mining operations.
Despite Kodal Minerals’ Bougouni Lithium Project in Southern Mali reaching the significant production milestone of over 11,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate, shares in the company were trading marginally lower at the time of writing on Friday.
The company is nearing completion of the Bougouni Lithium mine and is carrying out optimisation of the processing plant, preparing for full production.
“I am pleased to confirm that the ramp-up and optimisation of the Project and DMS processing plant is progressing and, positively, we are seeing ongoing improvements through the modifications and adjustments to the DMS processing plant as advancements continues,” said Bernard Aylward, CEO of Kodal Minerals.
The project, which achieved its first lithium spodumene concentrate in February 2025, has handled 13,400 tonnes of material, yielding 1,920 tonnes of spodumene concentrate with a grade of 5.63% Li₂O.
Despite this progress, export plans to China via the Port of Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire remain on hold pending the transfer of the Bougouni Mining Licence from Future Minerals SARL to Les Mines de Lithium de Bougouni SA (LMLB). Whilst the necessary company structure updates have been completed and approved by relevant Mali Government ministers, the application awaits final approval from President Assimi Goïta. This is an issue that has now dragged on for months.
The licence transfer delay has prompted Kodal Mining (UK) Ltd, which holds a 49% interest in the project, to formally request an extension for its scheduled US$7.5 million payment to the Mali government, as outlined in the November 2024 Memorandum of Understanding. Government officials have acknowledged receipt of this request, though a formal response is still pending.
Although Kodal is moving towards full commercial production at Bougouni, the Kodal share price still hasn’t managed to build a base above levels seen in 2021.