Modern Mining May 2020

LITHIUM

“We have applied for a Mining Licence (Exploitation Permit) in Mali and are proceeding through the formal process of achieving the grant of this licence. Kodal has secured a major shareholder, and off-take partner, who is positive about the devel- opment of the project,” he says. The next stages following the grant of the Mining Licence, adds Aylward, will be to finalise the plant design, review and finalise the mining optimisation and open pit plan and then look to secure financing to commence construction. “At this stage no definitive timeline can be given as we are awaiting the Mali Government decision, how- ever, we don’t anticipate any significant delays and expect our development schedule will proceed along a typical timeline,” he says. The Ngoualana prospect will be the first prospect to be mined as it has the highest grade miner- alisation, has simpler metallurgy and will allow the company to commence production quickly. “There will be overlap of the various open pits as the min- ing sequence progresses, and we will continue to explore the project where we have identified mul- tiple targets that may add further mineralisation in the future,” says Aylward. About the project Kodal Minerals’ primary focus is on the rapid advancement towards production of its flagship Bougouni Lithium Project. The JORC Resource Estimate places the Bougouni Project in the top 15 hard rock lithium projects globally and was calculated using only three of the eight currently recognised prospects demonstrating the significant exploration upside potential remaining across the 450-km² project area. The Bougouni project and recently acquired 200 km² Bougouni West project are located in an emerging lithium province that is already attract- ing the attention of investors and off-take partners interested in securing a long-term supply of lith- ium. With the support of its strategic investor and off-take partner Suay Chin International Pte, a Singapore-based lithium and chemical trader, Kodal

Shengli facility is suitable for processing Bougouni ores and further synergies could be gained through the adoption of the same plant configuration. The bulk sample test work confirms that the spodumene concentrate from Bougouni is low in impurities and aligns with previous test work com- pleted by Ruifu that has demonstrated the suitability of the Bougouni spodumene concentrate to achieve downstream processing of high quality, low impurity battery grade lithium carbonate. Next steps In order to investigate potential benefits, Kodal will undertake a study optimisation process using the Feasibility Study as a basis. The optimisations will consider the benefit of improved overall recovery, against any additional capital and operating costs of a combined DMS–flotation circuit. The optimisation studies will be completed internally and the results of this work are expected to be finalised in Q3 2020. With regards to the Bougouni Mining Licence application submitted in January 2020, Aylward says Kodal is maintaining regular communication with offi- cials at the Mali Ministry of Mines to monitor progress of the application.

The Ngoualana Prospect will be the first prospect to be mined as it has the highest grade mineralisation, has simpler metallurgy and will allow the company to commence production quickly.

22  MODERN MINING  May 2020