...and no marks for guessing that Kodal is financed and...

...and no marks for guessing that Kodal is financed and controlled by the Chinese

...with Chinese lithium offtake likely to derived from South America and Africa, Australia is probably an interim shoe-in until those emerging mines come into production. China is well positioned for the very day that US will ask Australia to stop supplying critical minerals to China; even if that does not eventuate (which works against our interest), China would be taking no chances and one step ahead to secure their supplies without reliance on the Western world.

...which is why I said don't expect lithium spot price to recover until Western legacy auto makers get their act together to rollout EVs in a big way- and that's at least 2-3 years away, maybe even longer with DJT as POTUS.

Kodal Minerals, the mineral exploration and development company, is pleased to provide an update on project development activities and general progress at its Bougouni Lithium Project in southern Mali (“Bougouni” or the “Project”.  As announced on 15 November 2023, Kodal has received all funds related to the funding transaction for US$117.75 million agreed between the Company and Hainan Mining Co. Limited (“Hainan”, comprising a US$100 million investment from Hainan to acquire 51% of the Bougouni project company, Kodal Mining UK Limited (“KMUK”, and a further US$17.75 million received for the subscription for new ordinary shares in Kodal Minerals plc at 0.5p per share.

Bernard Aylward, CEO of Kodal Minerals, remarked: “The first quarter of 2024 has seen major progress as we push ahead with the development of our flagship Bougouni Lithium Project. The integration of the Hainan and Kodal groups within KMUK has been very pleasing; this positive collaboration is very important to keep our development momentum moving forward.
The new management team has worked together very effectively to review and improve the development plan for Bougouni and, positively, confirmed the capital expenditure estimate of US$65 million for Stage 1 of the project development.

“This month we also signed contracts for the supply of the crushing circuit and DMS modules from experienced suppliers in China and expect these long lead items will be available on site in time to maintain our expectation of first production in Q4 2024.

“With the main access road fully complete, the Mali Minister for Environment, Professor Tiémoko Sangaré, visited the site late last month. During the visit our project team presented the features and plans for the Phase 1 DMS Operation at Bougouni, with specific focus on the environment, the social aspects and the draft of the Community Development Plan. I’m pleased to confirm that the Minister has since followed up on his visit with a formal letter, confirming his approval of the proposed plan for the Phase 1 DMS project.

“Significantly, the team has finalised negotiations for the award of a mining contract. The mining contractor will mobilise to site in the coming weeks and will commence with site clearing works in early April along with other key site establishment activities.

“These are all major milestones for the Company and underpins our target of moving into production at Bougouni before the end of 2024. We look forward to updating the market in the months ahead as we advance this exciting West African Lithium asset.