Kodal Minerals PLC (AIM:KOD) said the first key components for the Dense Media Separation (DMS) and processing plants at its new lithium mine at Bougouni have arrived in Mali.
Civil construction works at Bougouni are also now 85% complete, it added, with only minor floor slabs and smaller footings remaining.
Mining at the main Ngoualana open pit is also progressing, with overburden removal continuing and three blasts of exposed hard rock and pegmatite bodies completed.
This ore is being stockpiled ahead of the commissioning of the DMS and processing plants later this year.
Drilling also continues to define the optimal open pit parameters, said the statement.
Bernard Aylward, Kodal Minerals chief executive, added: “The DMS and Ngoualana open pit development continues to advance with the open pit mining currently ahead of schedule, with no impact from the heavy rainfall experienced in July and early August associated with a heavy rainy season in 2024.
“Ahead of the assembling of the DMS processing plant, site works have continued to advance as planned with the completion of the foundations for the DMS units, and processing infrastructure and the crushing circuit.
“The area of the processing plant, office buildings and the open pit have remained outside of high-water levels and provide confidence of future mining and processing activities throughout the year.”
“The arrival of the first shipping cargoes into the Abidjan Port, and subsequent commencement of transport to the site is yet another positive step.”
The contract for the DMS site installation has been awarded to local company Bambara Resources SARL and subcontractor partner Jinpeng, who have recently completed the installation of a similar DMS processing plant in Nigeria.
In addition, the site installation will be supported by expert engineers from Beijing High Dynamic for the crushing circuit and from Haiwang Technology Group for the DMS units operation.
“The development of Bougouni the project is now entering a critical and exciting phase as the construction assembling of the processing circuit commences and we will continue to provide regular updates as work progresses,” said Kodal.