LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Kodal Minerals announced on Tuesday that it has achieved first spodumene concentrate production at its fully-funded Bougouni Lithium Project in southern Mali, following the commissioning of the dense media separation (DMS) processing plant.
The AIM-traded firm said initial production, achieved ahead of schedule, was a key milestone in the project's development, setting the stage for the plant's ramp-up to full capacity in the coming weeks.

During the commissioning phase, pegmatite ore was introduced into the processing circuit, with the DMS plant achieving its target performance.

The first spodumene concentrate produced had an assay grade of 5.53% lithium oxide, aligning with the planned production profile.

Commissioning was continuing with further optimisation of processing circuits, including balancing ore feed input and density loading of the DMS units.

Construction costs remained within the $65m capital development budget, with only minor optimisation works outstanding.

Open-pit mining at the Ngoualana deposit was ongoing, with more than 350,000 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 1.17% lithium oxide stockpiled for processing.

Mining and processing operations at Bougouni had now transitioned to 24/7 operations.

Regulatory progress was also advancing, the board said, with the transfer of the mining licence lodged and accepted by Mali's Mines Department.

The final compliance stages were nearing completion, with the new mining decree awaiting the final signature from the President of Mali.

"The first production of spodumene concentrate at Bougouni marks a major milestone for Kodal and I would like to thank our entire team for this achievement, which wholly reflects the dedication and effort of all those involved," said chief executive officer Bernard Aylward.

"We are confident that this progress will continue into the commercial production phase and our project team will continue to work towards our 10,000 tonnes per month target at Bougouni."

Aylward said the operational focus over the coming weeks would be finalising commissioning and stress testing of the DMS processing plant as the firm ramped up to achieve nameplate capacity and steady state production.

"We look forward to confirming our first shipment of lithium spodumene concentrate to Hainan in China by the end of this quarter."

At 1526 GMT, shares in Kodal Minerals were up 6.06% at 0.42p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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