Kodal Minerals has announced the departure of its maiden shipment of lithium spodumene concentrate from the Bougouni Project in Mali, marking a major milestone in the project’s transition to revenue generation. The 28,950-tonne cargo left the Port of San Pedro bound for China.
The company’s subsidiary, Les Mines de Lithium de Bougouni, is set to receive an initial payment of around US$24 million, representing 95% of the cargo value. Kodal said the final realised sale price is expected to exceed US$930 per dry metric tonne, reflecting stronger market pricing and the higher grade of its product.
To date, the Bougouni operation has produced more than 45,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate at an average grade of 5.39% lithium oxide (Li₂O), positioning the project as a new entrant in the global lithium supply chain at a time of renewed demand from the battery and electric-vehicle sectors.
Bernard Aylward, CEO of Kodal Minerals, remarked:
“The completion of the loading and the departure of our first shipment of lithium spodumene concentrate to our joint development and offtake partner, Hainan, is a major milestone for our team and will result in the receipt of the first revenues from the Project.
“Additionally, the significant improvement in the lithium pricing environment in recent weeks will be reflected in the sale price for our spodumene concentrate as per the terms of the Offtake Agreement. The final sale price for the lithium spodumene product will be adjusted to account for the actual grade and quality of product delivered and deducting the cost of sea freight, the Company expects the price to exceed US$930 per dry metric tonne (“DMT”) of spodumene concentrate.
“I would like to thank all of our stakeholders who have made this critical step possible – our loyal shareholders, dedicated workforce, supportive Malian stakeholders, including the Malian Government, the office of the Governor of the Bougouni Region and the entire Bougouni community, many of whom are amongst the 650-strong team on site at Bougouni. Additionally, I would like to thank Hainan for its unwavering support of the Project as our joint development and offtake partner, without which today’s, momentous achievement would not have been possible.”
