REG - Kodal Minerals PLC - Bougouni Project Update & First Revenues Received

Kodal MineralsAnnouncement

17/12/2025 07:45

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RNS Number : 9182L  Kodal Minerals PLC  17 December 2025

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations
(EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR")

 

Kodal Minerals Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: KOD / Sector: Mining

 

Kodal Minerals plc

("Kodal Minerals", "Kodal" or the "Company")

 

17 December 2025

 

 Bougouni Project Update &

First Revenues Received

 

Kodal Minerals (AIM: KOD), the West African lithium producer, mineral
exploration and development company, is pleased to provide an update on the
mining operations at the Bougouni Lithium Project ("Bougouni" or the
"Project") in Southern Mali, which is owned and operated by Kodal Mining UK
Limited ("KMUK") in which Kodal has a 49% shareholding.

 

The Company is also pleased to provide confirmation of receipt of the initial
payment for the maiden export of spodumene concentrate from Hainan Mining Co.
Limited ("Hainan"), the Project's off-take partner and the final assay results
for the drilling programme at the Boumou prospect.

 

Highlights:

·    The Dense Media Separation ("DMS") processing restarted this week
after a planned maintenance and engineering works for the resolution of
bottlenecking issues and adjustments to optimise plant performance as well as
the build-up of the run-of-mine ("ROM") stockpile, with management expecting
the DMS processing plant to be operating at nameplate capacity in the near
future.

·    Payment from the Project's offtake partner, Hainan, for the sum of
$21.3 million has been received by KMUK, marking 95% of the cargo value of the
spodumene concentrate exported from the port of San Pedro on 28 November 2025,
in accordance with the offtake agreement.

·    Mining continues at the Ngoualana open pit mine with pegmatite ore
currently being blasted and mined from the middle level of the pit.

·    Pegmatite ore is being hauled to the ROM stockpile with current
stockpile levels of approximately 65,000 tonnes.  The current mining plan
provides for continued building of the stockpile with the aim of ensuring
uninterrupted supply to the DMS processing plant throughout 2026.

·    De-watering of the pit is continuing, and it is expected that access
to the base of the pit for blasting and mining of the main pegmatite ores will
soon be available. This is not impacting on mine access as pit de-watering is
an ongoing standard operation required for mining activity.

·    Transport of spodumene concentrate to the port of San Pedro is
continuing and a second shipment of spodumene concentrate to China of
20,000-30,000 tonnes is planned for the first quarter of 2026.

·    Boumou prospect assay results received confirm the continuation of
wide, high-grade pegmatite mineralisation.  The drilling intersected multiple
pegmatite bodies with a further drilling campaign planned for early 2026.
Significant drilling results include:

o  54m at 1.57% Li(2)O from 104.5m in drill hole KLDH067;

o  37m at 1.60% Li(2)O from 62.5m in drill hole KLDH060; and

o  20m at 1.41% Li(2)O from 86m;

9.5m at 1.73% Li(2)O from 110.5m; and

20.5m at 1.23% Li(2)O from 219m in drill hole KLDH056.

 

Bernard Aylward, CEO of Kodal Minerals, remarked:

"We are very pleased to report the receipt of payment from Hainan following
the maiden export by Lithium Mines de Bougouni SA ("LMLB") (a subsidiary of
KMUK which owns the mining licence) of the spodumene concentrate from the port
of San Pedro on 28 November 2025, marking first revenues for KMUK.  Following
the successful transport and shipment of the first export of spodumene
concentrate, the Bougouni mining operation has continued with the build-up of
the ROM stockpile ahead of the full recommencement of production, which should
ensure that the DMS processing plant is able to produce approximately 10,000
tonnes per month.

 

"Over recent months, the operation has focused on maintenance and engineering
optimisation of the DMS processing plant planned from late August and into
September. Following completion of the main improvements, the plant
recommenced operations in late September, treating low-grade and transitional
ore to ensure that the optimisation work was successful in upgrading the plant
to reach its targeted production profile of 125,000 tonnes of spodumene
concentrate per annum.  Processing of ore material was then halted while the
operation focussed on the export of finished product and resumption of ore
mining from the open pit mine ahead of full processing resumption this week.

 

"We continue to have full support from our contractors and confirm that the
operation has full fuel supply, and our blasting contractor continues to
operate at full capacity.

 

"The high grade drilling intersection returned from the Boumou prospect
highlight the potential growth of this prospect and continue to demonstrate
the long-life potential of the Bougouni operation. The next stage of work to
the Boumou prospect will include further drilling, metallurgical testing and
geotechnical assessment to allow the team to develop a mining plan.  In
addition, we are completing an update to the previously approved Environmental
and Social Impact Assessment ("ESIA") due to the enlargement of this prospect
area.  We expect to undertake this work throughout 2026 with the aim of
completing the Feasibility Assessment and Investment Decision by the end of
2026.

 

"As KMUK's Bougouni operation moves to a steady state producer, the Company
expects to provide a quarterly update covering key aspects of the operation
including mining, processing, transport and shipping and including exploration
and development drilling, with the first update expected in April 2026."

 

Further details

 

Hainan Payment for Initial Export

The full initial payment of US$21.3 million for the first shipment of
spodumene concentrate has been paid by Hainan to the operating mining company,
Les Mines de Lithium de Bougouni SA, ("LMLB") in line with the terms of the
Bougouni offtake agreement.

 

This first payment is for an invoiced amount of 95% value of the spodumene
concentrate. The final price will be confirmed following arrival in Hainan in
early January where testing of the ore will confirm grade and tonnes
delivered, the final shipping costs.  The final payment for the first
shipment will then be paid to LMLB.

 

Ngoualana Open Pit Mining Activities

Open pit mining continues at the Ngoualana open pit mine.  During the wet
season the pit filled with water, as was expected, and access to the base was
unavailable for the mining fleet.  Activity transferred to the preparation
for the full extension of the pit area, repair and maintenance of the haul
roads and preparation for the re-commencement of mining activities in
November.

De-watering of the pit has been ongoing, and a sump has been dug within the
lower pit levels to improve the dewatering rate.  In addition, permanent bore
holes have been installed in two locations to manage the pit water levels
going forward. The Bougouni operation plans to install a second de-watering
pipe system to ensure that the mining operation is less impacted by the wet
season in 2026.

 

The current mining activities are focussed on near surface pegmatite bodies
exposed in the pre-strip and initial mining as well as focussed on the
extensions of the main ore zones in the middle levels of the open pit.  The
mining operation consists of blasting of the pegmatite bodies and load to the
ROM pad as well as removal of waste material.

 

The blasting contractor has been able to secure supply of explosive material
to ensure a steady state operation.

 

The Bougouni mining team has prepared a schedule of mining that will deliver
over 100,000 tonnes of ore to the ROM pad each month, to ensure a full feed
supply is available for the processing plant and additional material will be
delivered throughout the dry season in preparation for the 2026 wet season
(which usually occurs in from July to September).

 

Bougouni Processing Plant Activities

The Bougouni processing plant underwent a series of maintenance checks,
engineering improvements and 'de-bottlenecking' initiatives to improve the
plant performance in late August 2025 to late September 2025. These items were
identified during the initial commissioning and ramp-up process of the plant
operation, and the August/September period presented an optimal time given the
wet season slow down. The plant re-commenced in late September 2025 and
treated low grade and transitional ore for a period to ensure all engineering
and improvements operated effectively.  The plant subsequently shut while the
operation focussed on the transport of the spodumene stockpile that had built
up around the plant area and had limited area for additional material to be
produced.

 

During that time, however, the crushing plant was used to generate a large
stockpile of stemming material for the drill and blast contractor by crushing
the pegmatite waste rock. This will reduce reliance on outsourcing stemming
and reduce operating cost. Stemming in mine blasting is a standard technique
that involves filling the space above the explosive charge in a drill hole
with inert but competent materials to confine the explosive energy. This
practice serves to contain the explosive energy, directing it towards the rock
mass and for maintaining the explosive energy within the blast hole,
minimizing vibration and noise, and preventing poor fragmentation.

 

The processing of the pegmatite ore for the DMS processing plant has commenced
this week and is expected to ramp up to nameplate capacity quickly following
the improvements made during the maintenance outage.

 

Spodumene Transport and Export Activities

Following the successful transportation and export of the first spodumene
concentrate from the Bougouni operation, the team will continue with the
transport to the port of San Pedro during December 2025 and January 2026 with
the target of building up a stockpile of more than 20,000 tonnes at port ready
for a second shipment in the first quarter of 2026.  The proposed export
timetable has planned regular shipments loads of a minimum of 20,000 tonnes
concentrate, representing two months of production and providing better
availability and economics of shipping transport.  The Bougouni operation has
approval for the export of the next 20,000 tonnes of material so currently
expects no delay in the transportation of material to the port.

 

Boumou Prospect Results and Next Steps

All assay results have been received for the Boumou prospect diamond drilling
completed in 2025.  These assay results confirm the geological interpretation
of the previous exploration work and highlight the consistent thickness and
width of the multiple pegmatite veins intersected in the drilling completed to
date. The Boumou prospect continues to expand with each drilling campaign and
the focus of our next stages of work will be on the economic assessment and
mining optimisation for the prospect to allow the team to develop a mining
plan.  The work programme will consist of further infill and extension
diamond drilling, metallurgical test work focussed on potential DMS
processing, but importantly, focussing on the potential floatation plant
design for Stage 2 of Bougouni and geotechnical drilling and assessment of the
host rock to support the future open pit design.

 

The geological interpretation of the 2025 drilling campaign highlights the
continuity of the main pegmatite bodies and is improving the understanding of
the potential fault structures and areas of alteration that are reducing the
lithium content of some of the pegmatite material.  This interpretation is
being used to plan the 2026 drilling campaign expected to commence in the
first quarter of 2026.

 

A summary of significant drill hole intersections from the diamond drilling
programme completed in 2025 are outlined in the table below:

 

 Drill Hole Identification  Depth from (m)  Depth to       (m)        Intersection Width (m)  Li(2)O % grade
 KLDH053B                   185.50          228.50                    43.00                   1.34
 KLDH054                    167.00          181.50                    14.50                   1.31
 KLDH055                    101.50          119.50                    18.00                   1.59
 KLDH056                    86.00           106.00                    20.00                   1.41
 KLDH056                    110.50          120.00                    9.50                    1.73
 KLDH056                    219.00          239.50                    20.50                   1.23
 KLDH059                    111.00          130.50                    19.50                   1.46
 KLDH059                    134.00          140.50                    6.50                    1.61
 KLDH059                    207.00          228.50                    21.50                   1.25
 KLDH060                    62.50           99.50                     37.00                   1.6
 KLDH062                    109.50          122.50                    13.00                   1.73
 KLDH062                    126.00          141.50                    15.50                   1.43
 KLDH067                    104.50          158.50                    54.00                   1.57
 KLDH067                    201.00          218.50                    17.50                   1.15

Notes:  Drill holes are diamond core drill holes.  Drill holes have been
sampled on a 0.5m basis with samples collected as half-core cut by a diamond
saw.  Sample boundaries are guided by geological interpretation.  Waste
material is included in zones of consistent wide pegmatite bodies. All drill
holes are geologically logged, and sampling for analysis is based on
geological boundaries.  Samples analysed by ALS Global. Assay results are
reported as Li% and converted to Li(2)O% by a factor of 2.153.  Intersections
are reported using geological boundaries for logged pegmatite, with a nominal
0.5%Li(2)O lower-cut-off and allowing for internal dilution in zones of broad
pegmatite mineralisation.

 

Geological interpretation of the Boumou prospect is ongoing and further
announcements will be made as the confirmation of the expansion of the
prospect is confirmed.

 

**ENDS**

 

For further information, please visit www.kodalminerals.com
(http://www.kodalminerals.com) or contact the following:

 

 Kodal Minerals plc

 Bernard Aylward, CEO                                                  via Burson Buchanan

 Allenby Capital Limited, AIM Nominated Adviser

 Jeremy Porter/Vivek Bhardwaj                                          Tel: 020 3328 5656

 SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP, Financial Adviser & Joint Broker

 Stuart Gledhill/Adam Cowl                                             Tel: 020 3470 0470

 Canaccord Genuity Limited, Joint Broker

 James Asensio/Charlie Hammond                                         Tel: 020 7523 4680

 Burson Buchanan, Financial PR

 Bobby Morse/Oonagh Reidy/Abigail Gilchrist                            Tel: +44 (0)20 7466 5000

                                                                       kodal@buchanancomms.co.uk

 

About Kodal Minerals

 

Kodal Minerals plc, the AIM-quoted West African lithium explorer, developer
and producer, is the co-developer of its flagship Bougouni Lithium Project in
Southern Mali alongside joint venture partner Hainan Mining, a subsidiary of
Hong Kong-listed Fosun International.

 

The Bougouni Lithium Project covers 350km² in the world-class Birimian
terrain of West Africa, located approximately 180km south of Mali's capital
Bamako. The Stage 1 Dense Media Separation ('DMS') processing plant, which
achieved first spodumene concentrate production in February 2025, has a target
output of 125ktpa Li₂O spodumene concentrate. Stage 2 Floatation plant is
expected to commence operations in 2028 with a forecast output of 230ktpa
Li₂O.

 

Bougouni is operated by Les Mines de Lithium de Bougouni SA ('LMLB'), a
subsidiary of Kodal Mining UK Limited ('KMUK') which owns the project and in
which Kodal has a 49 per cent shareholding. The company also has a number of
highly prospective gold assets in its diverse portfolio located in West
Africa.

 

For more information on Kodal, please visit kodalminerals.com
(https://kodalminerals.com/)

 

The exploration results and activity reported in this announcement have been
reviewed by Mr Bernard Aylward who is a Member of the Australasian Institute
of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Aylward has sufficient experience that is
relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under
consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Qualified
Person as defined in the AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies dated
June 2009. Mr Aylward consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the
matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

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