REG - Kodal Minerals PLC - Mali President Opens Bougouni Lithium Project

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RNS Number : 0885G  Kodal Minerals PLC  04 November 2025

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

 

Kodal Minerals plc

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

04 November 2025

 

Mali President Officially Opens Bougouni Lithium Project

 

Kodal Minerals (AIM: KOD), the West African lithium producer and mineral
exploration and development company, is pleased to announce the official
opening of the Stage 1 Bougouni Lithium Project in southern Mali ("Bougouni
Project" or "Project") by General Assimi Goïta, President of the Republic of
Mali ("President Goïta"), in a ceremony held on Monday, 3 November 2025.

 

The official opening of the Stage 1 Dense Media Separation ("DMS") processing
plant at the Bougouni Project was hosted by General Ousmane Wele, Governor of
the Bougouni Region, who welcomed government dignitaries including President
Goïta, Professor Amadou Keita, the Mali Minister of Mines, community leaders
including the Village Chief of Ngoulana, and national and local media. To
celebrate the official opening of the Bougouni Project, located approximately
180km south of Bamako in southern Mali, the ceremony included speeches from
Professor Keita and Chairman of Kodal Mining UK Limited ("KMUK") and CEO of
Hainan Mining Co. Ltd ("Hainan"), David Teng, who is also a director of Kodal.
This was followed by a guided tour of the Bougouni Project including the DMS
processing plant for visiting dignitaries, where the official unveiling of an
Inauguration Plaque by President Goïta took place.

 

Bougouni Project background

 

The Bougouni Project is operated by local Mali registered mining company, Les
Mines de Lithium de Bougouni SA ("LMLB"). LMLB is a subsidiary of KMUK, in
which Kodal has a 49 per cent. shareholding in and the balance owned by
Hainan. The Malian government holds a direct 35 per cent. stake in LMLB.

 

The Bougouni Project commenced construction in mid-2024 and announced first
production of high-grade lithium spodumene concentrate at grades of 5.53%
Li(2)O in February 2025 (see announcement dated 11 Feb
(https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/kodal_minerals/news/rns/story/xjz417r)
ruary 2025)
(https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/kodal_minerals/news/rns/story/xjz417r)
during the plant commissioning phase and has produced over 45,000 tonnes of
spodumene, to date. Targeted annual production at the Bougouni Project is
125,000 tonnes at average grade of 5.5% Li(2)O. The Stage 1 DMS processes
coarse-grained spodumene material from the Ngoualana Mine, feeding [a
nameplate capacity of / up to] 1Mtpa of lithium ore into the DMS processing
plant utilising a conventional circuit to maximise spodumene recovery.

 

The Company recently commenced and successfully completed first transportation
of spodumene product from site to the Port of San Pedro in Côte d'Ivoire,
which will subsequently be exported to its partner and offtaker Hainan's
refinery in China. Departure of the first export shipment, expected to occur
later in November 2025, will trigger payment and first revenues to LMLB.

 

 

Bernard Aylward, CEO of Kodal Minerals, remarked:

"I am delighted to have attended the opening today and observed the strong
support of the President of the Republic of Mali, General Assimi Goïta,
government dignitaries and representatives from the communities in which we
operate.  I noted particularly the comments of the Chief of Ngoualana
referring to the opportunities the new development provides and stating his
belief that this was the greatest day for his village.

 

"In partnership with Hainan, the Bougouni operations team has delivered our
flagship critical minerals project, both on time and within our US$65 million
capital budget. This is no small achievement, and I want to give a heartfelt
thanks to Steve Zaninovich, Kodal's Operations Director and Jerry Gao, Hainan
VP of Operations, who have led our dedicated 650-strong team of employees, 95%
of which are Malian nationals - a number we can be extremely proud of. Our
Project will deliver direct and indirect benefits to not only the local
community here at Bougouni but also nationally to the wider Malian economy. It
was very pleasing to see the happiness of all of our team present at the
opening and the recognition of this achievement.

 

"I also want to offer our thanks to President Goïta, Professor Amadou Keita
and General Wele, whose steadfast support has helped us advance and complete
the first stage of the Bougouni Project. Lithium is still a relatively new
commodity in Mali and with a production target of 125,000 tonnes annually for
Stage 1, I look forward to our Bougouni Project significantly contributing to
the national output of the country's 'white gold', with further plans to
almost double output for Stage 2, which is currently in the planning phase."

 

**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, 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: 0207 523 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 development 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'), 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/)

 

 

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