KODAL Minerals said on Friday it had finalised the terms of a mining licence with the Mali government for its 125,000 tons a year Bougouni spodumene (lithium) project.
The mining licence would migrate to the country’s 2023 Mining Code which allows for a 35% stake in the project by the state and “national private investor interest”. The balance of the project would be held by Kodal Minerals UK.
In terms of the memorandum of understanding governing the mining licence agreement, Kodal Minerals will pay Mali $15m, payable in cash in two tranches, by March 2025. The licence will be for an initial 10 year term, the company said.
Existing customs and duties exemptions during the construction phase of the project are protected by the MoU while the Mali state has also undertaken to grant necessary permits. Shares in Kodal Minerals were just over 6% lower in London following the announcement.
“The MoU with the State for the transfer of the Bougouni mining licence is the final legal step required as we rapidly progress the construction of the project, with production on track for the first quarter of 2025,” said Bernard Aylward, CEO of Kodal Minerals today.
On September 26, Kodal announced first production from Bougouni would be rescheduled to the first quarter of 2025 owing to heavy rainfall as well as shipping and transport delays.
In 2023, Mali’s interim government signed into law a new mining code enabling the state and local investors to take stakes in mining projects as high as 35% compared with 20% previously.
This would more than double the sector’s contribution to Mali’s gross domestic product to around 20% and allow Mali to address a shortfall in production revenues, the government said at the time.
