LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Mali-focussed mineral exploration and development company Kodal Minerals updated the market on recent activities at the Bougouni Lithium Project in the south of the country on Friday.
The AIM-traded firm said it had been focused on advancing the development of the project through the completion of the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) and various engineering studies, as well as continuing its exploration programme.

It said the ESIA technical reports were currently being compiled and finalised for submission to the authorities, with community consultation meetings completed and an apparently positive response to the proposed development from officials and the community.

Project visits had also been completed by engineering consultant groups, to finalise the mine and process planning, with an engineering review of infrastructure and transport at the project ongoing, with "significant" cost savings identified in transport estimates.

Metallurgical testwork was also continuing, with a focus on targeting starting with a dense media separation (DMS) plant, and a flotation circuit to be added potentially four years on in the mining cycle.

A bulk sample mining contract had been terminated at the Bougouni Project due to poor performance of contractor, the board added.

Kodal said it was shipping 980 tonnes of lithium spodumene material directly from the Dakar port to China for testing, with the large test size set to provide beneficial information on processing and recovery at an operational scale.

Exploration activities had also identified further drill targets within the project and at the recently-acquired Bougouni West concessions, with drilling to begin in early June.

"I am delighted to announce that we have continued to make significant steps in advancing operations at our Bougouni Lithium Project," said Kodal Minerals chief executive officer Bernard Aylward.

"The large amount of technical work that is currently underway represents significant components of our upcoming feasibility study and we are using the most experienced consultants to ensure we achieve the best result.

"Moreover, the completion of all specialist baseline studies for the ESIA, combined with the completed community consultation, will allow us to finalise our ESIA application and lodge it for approval."

Aylward said the ongoing support the firm had received from the Mali Government and local community had been "very encouraging", and demonstrated the "significant interest" in the project's development.

"Unfortunately, we have terminated the contract for the completion of our bulk sampling programme at Bougouni due to poor performance of the contractor.

"Currently we have over 980 tonnes of material at the port of Dakar for shipping to China and our in-depth discussions with the processing company, Ruifu Chemical of Shandong, have informed us that this size sample will provide very useful information nonetheless.

"It is clear that this sample, combined with our ongoing metallurgical testwork, will allow us to optimise the future mining and processing of lithium spodumene at the Bougouni Project."

The firm's exploration programme had continued to identify and delineate high priority exploration targets, Aylward explained, and as such, the company had been working "extensively" on the Bougouni West concessions which it acquired in the first quarter.

He said the board expected to begin a drilling programme in June, with key targets identified within the Mafele West concession - which was close to Birimian's Goulamina Project - as well as drilling additional targets within its own Bougouni Project that were in close proximity to the existing resources.

"This is a very exciting time for the company with much work underway.

"The pace of our development programme continues as we focus our attention towards lodging the ESIA, continuing to strengthen of our relationships with the Malian authorities and local communities and finally, undertaking a pivotal work and drilling programme at Bougouni.

"I look forward to updating our shareholders in due course."

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