Our Commodities & Energy Transition
Why Lithium?
Lithium (Li) is a chemical element of Group 1 (Ia) in the periodic table, the alkali metal group – the metal itself is soft, white, and lustrous and is known as ‘white gold’, and comprises approximately 0.002% of the Earth’s crust. Lithium is found in pegmatite ores including spodumene (LiAlSi2O6) and lepidolite, or amblygonite (LiAlFPO4) ores, with Lithium Oxide (Li2O) content of between 4-8.5%.
The fast-growing demand for lithium is being driven by the booming global electric vehicle (EV) market but the white metal is also used in rechargeable batteries for smartphones, laptops, digital cameras and energy storage infrastructure including battery storage technology or green tech.
Driven by the electrification of global transport from buses to cars and trucks, global annual sales of electric vehicles are expected to hit US$40 million by 2040 with lawmakers globally including the UK, Europe, the US and Australia implementing bans on combustion engine cars from the 2030s onwards. This is to align with the Net Zero by 2050 ambitions and the 2016 Paris Agreement signed by 196 nations, which agreed to keep “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels”.
Kodal will help address the ever-increasing global demand for lithium by becoming one of West Africa’s first lithium producer in Q1 2025, supplying Chinese markets – primarily Hainan’s lithium hydroxide plant in China – from Bougouni Stage 1.
Bougouni Lithium
Kodal’s primary focus is the development of its maiden Bougouni Lithium Project in Southern Mali.
Kodal’s Bougouni Lithium product – a 5.5% Li2O spodumene concentrate – boasts a grade that is ideally suited for conversion into Lithium Hydroxide used in for use in EV batteries and other energy technologies. The spodumene concentrate product is consistent with other lithium producers currently active in the market.
Renewable Energy Storage Systems
Electric
Vehicles
Portable Electronic Devices
Key facts driving global lithium demand:
- Global shift to Net Zero Emissions driving green energy transition
- Fast growing lithium demand to reach 4,500 Gw/hours by 2030
- By 2030, 95% of demand for lithium will be for batteries, up from just 30% in 2015
- Electric vehicle sales forecast demand to surge to 40 million per annum by 2030
Global lithium demand could reach 4,500 gigawatt-hours by 2030
Electric vehicle sales will reach roughly 40 million by 2030
Number of battery electric vehicles sold (million, left) and % of total global auto sales (right) 2016-30e
Top 10 countries with largest lithium reserves, million metric tons
