Kodal Minerals PLC
17 July 2026
Kodal Minerals Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: KOD / Sector: Mining
17 July 2026
Kodal Minerals plc
("Kodal Minerals", "Kodal" or the "Company")
Bougouni Lithium Project Quarterly Update
for the three months ended 30 June 2026
Kodal Minerals (AIM: KOD), the West African lithium producer, mineral exploration and development company, provides an update on mining, processing, export and development activities at the Bougouni Lithium Project ("Bougouni" or the "Project") for the three months ended 30 June 2026 (the "quarter").
Kodal maintains its involvement and interest in Bougouni via its 49 per cent. shareholding in Kodal Mining UK Limited ("KMUK") in partnership with Hainan Mining Co. Ltd ("Hainan"), which as the 51 per cent. shareholder has ultimate control. KMUK holds a 65 per cent. shareholding of the subsidiary mining company Les Mines de Lithium de Bougouni SA ("LMLB"), which owns the Project in partnership with the Mali Government, and KMUK provides the management oversight and operational control of mining activities at Bougouni.
Quarter highlights:
· Quarterly production of 26,174 dry metric tonnes ("DMT") of spodumene concentrate grading 5.34% Li2O. Year to date production of 53,195 DMT of spodumene concentrate.
· Mining operator, LMLB, has paid an initial US$13 million to KMUK, representing the first repayment of loans advanced to finance capital expenditure. Funds received have been used by KMUK to pay down the majority of the Hainan loan facility (announced on 30 April 2025).
· Third shipment of approximately 20,400 DMT of spodumene concentrate arrived at Hainan port on 27 June 2026, bringing completed exports of spodumene concentrate to over 69,000 tonnes to date.
· Spodumene concentrate price calculated for the third shipment is equivalent to US$2,304 per DMT concentrate based on the agreed averaging and weighting of the Shanghai Metal Market China CIF Index and African CIF Index for SC6 (6% Li2O spodumene concentrate). The actual price received will be adjusted to reflect the verified grade of concentrate and for the costs of insurance and freight; an interim payment of $34.4 million has already been received for 95% of the estimated final value.
· Bougouni operation continued open pit mining at the Ngoualana open pit, with additional equipment mobilised by the mining contractors leading to an improvement of mining activity.
· The stage 1 Dense Media Separation ("DMS") processing plant performed below budget in May due to maintenance and breakdown issues connected to the crushing circuit, lowering feed to the DMS processing plant. Operations returned to normal throughput in June.
· Health, Safety and Environment ("HSE") assessment indicates one medically treated incident ("MTI") reported during the quarter. The operation continues to prioritise training and staff awareness of all HSE requirements.
Post-quarter highlights:
· Fourth shipment of approximately 24,200 DMT of spodumene concentrate departed the port of San Pedro, Côte d'Ivoire on 11 July 2026 and is expected to arrive in Hainan in late August 2026.
Bernard Aylward, CEO of Kodal Minerals, commented: "The initial US$13 million payment from the Bougouni lithium mine operator, LMLB, to KMUK represents the first repayment of loans advanced by KMUK to LMLB to finance capital expenditure. The Bougouni operation is continuing to export spodumene concentrate and the strong price environment for the product is enabling LMLB to generate very positive returns. The operation is planning to continue regular exports of spodumene concentrate on a six week to two-month schedule with cargo loads of up to 15,000 and 20,000 DMT tonnes. Spodumene concentrate exports continue on schedule and the fourth shipment departed San Pedro shortly after quarter end, further demonstrating the reliability of the export route from Bougouni to Côte d'Ivoire.
"The production result for the second quarter was below management's budget, mainly due to maintenance and breakdown issues with the crushing circuit delaying feed to the DMS processing plant. The site team has since completed maintenance of the crushing circuit and the operation continued to improve to expected levels in June. Furthermore, the additional mining equipment mobilised to site has improved production from the Ngoualana open pit and the team is focussed on meeting the operation budget as well as maintaining prudent cash control to ensure ongoing margins for the Bougouni lithium operation remain strong.
"For the current quarter, the Bougouni operation has normal operations scheduled and has made preparation for the upcoming wet season to ensure steady production. Revenue from both the third and fourth shipments are expected to be received during the current quarter and as we continue to see a strong spodumene price environment, the Bougouni operation is benefiting from the high spodumene lithium price and expects to continue to make regular repayments to KMUK."
Further details:
Mining:
The Ngoualana open pit mining continued to operate during the quarter with additional mining equipment mobilised and work commenced in the pit. The summary statistics for the quarter are outlined in the table below:
|
Ngoualana open pit |
Quarter ended 30 June 2026 Mining |
Year to date |
|
Total tonnes mined |
2,232,687 |
4,215,465 |
|
Total ore tonnes mined |
312,087 |
586,315 |
|
Total ore grade % |
1.13 |
1.14 |
|
Strip ratio |
6.15 |
6.19 |
Operations at the Ngoualana open pit were behind plan for the quarter with mining initially impacted by the availability of machinery and the blasting efficiency. The open pit mining contractors have mobilised additional equipment to site and operations improved in May and June.
The Company actively manages the supply of key input materials at its operations and has suffered no issues with respect to either fuel or explosives availability.
Spodumene production:
Spodumene production was below management's budget for the quarter. This was mainly caused by maintenance and breakdown issues of the crushing circuit in May 2026. The summary statistics of the crushing circuit and DMS processing plant for the quarter are outlined in the table below:
|
Bougouni processing plant |
Quarter ended 30 June 2026 |
Year to date |
|
ROM feed to processing plant (Tonnes) |
297,583 |
604,413 |
|
Average feed grade % Li2O |
1.02 |
1.02 |
|
Spodumene concentrate produced (dry metric tonnes) |
26,174 |
53,195 |
|
DMS recovery rate % |
59.5% |
59.5% |
|
Overall recovery rate % |
46.1% |
46.1% |
|
Average concentrate grade % Li2O |
5.34 |
5.31 |
The lower quarterly production was driven by poor performance in May that stemmed from crushing circuit issues. The site team completed repairs of the crushing circuit and significant improvement was noted in June 2026. The site team is continuing to monitor the DMS processing plant and crushing circuit and is continuing a regular maintenance and repair programme to ensure consistent performance.
Spodumene export and revenue for LMLB:
The third export shipment arrived in Hainan on 27 June 2026, and final confirmation of the shipment is being completed prior to finalisation of the payment for the shipment. The calculated price of the shipment based on the off-take agreement utilising the market price published by Shanghai Metal Markets ("SMM") and a blend of the China SC6 CIF index and the African SC6 CIF index indicated a SC6 price of US$2,304 per DMT. As usual, the final payment is pending confirmation of adjustment for grade, shipping and insurance costs; an interim payment of $34.4 million has already been received for 95% of the estimated final value.
Post-quarter end, a fourth export shipment was loaded and departed the port of San Pedro on 11 July 2026 with a further approximately 24,200 tonnes of spodumene concentrate and is expected to arrive in Hainan in late August 2026.
The LMLB operation has made an initial repayment against loans advanced by its main shareholder, KMUK, with an initial payment of US$13 million transferred during the quarter. KMUK has used the funds received to pay down the majority of the funds owed under the Hainan loan facility. The Hainan loan facility comprises interest bearing debt and is the only external debt for KMUK.
The Bougouni operation is continuing to generate a strong margin from the production of spodumene concentrate and is benefiting from the strong lithium price environment and high demand for the spodumene concentrate. The operation is generating cashflow and expects to continue repayments to KMUK.
HSE and community engagement:
The Bougouni operation reported zero LTI incidents and one MTI incident during the quarter.
The operation reported minor malaria cases, minor first aid treatment incidents and property and environmental incidents. The site continues to monitor the health and safety of the workforce closely, and all incidents are reviewed at the site safety meetings. The operation continues to prioritise staff training, the review of all HSE issues and notes that the site has continued to demonstrate improved safety performance during the quarter.
Bougouni development plan:
The work programme for the proposed Phase Two Floatation Plant development continued during the quarter. The update for the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ("ESIA") is continuing with meetings and discussions with relevant communities progressing as well as assessment of potential compensation payments to the affected communities with the expanded footprint of the Boumou prospect.
The development team are working with consultant engineers for the proposed floatation plant design. The team plan to ship an additional 20 tonnes of samples for metallurgical testing and optimisation of plant design. In addition, the testwork will also complete Bond Work Index ("BWI") studies required to finalise the mill selection for the floatation plant crushing circuit.
The Phase Two development programme will continue during the year, and update announcements will be provided as necessary and in these quarterly reports.
**ENDS**
For further information, please visit www.kodalminerals.com or contact the following:
|
Kodal Minerals plc Bernard Aylward, CEO |
via Burson Buchanan |
|
Allenby Capital Limited, AIM Nominated Adviser Jeremy Porter/Vivek Bhardwaj |
Tel: 020 3328 5656 |
|
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP, Financial Adviser & Joint Broker Stuart Gledhill/Adam Cowl |
Tel: 020 3470 0470 |
|
Canaccord Genuity Limited, Joint Broker James Asensio/Charlie Hammond |
Tel: 020 7523 4680 |
|
Peel Hunt LLP, Joint Broker Ross Allister/David McKeown/Georgia Langoulant |
Tel: 0207 418 8900 |
|
Burson Buchanan, Financial PR Louise Mason-Rutherford / Abigail Gilchrist / Jude Stokes
|
Tel: +44 (0)20 7466 5000 kodal@buchanancomms.co.uk |
About Kodal Minerals
Kodal Minerals plc, the AIM-quoted West African lithium explorer, developer and producer, is the co-developer of its flagship Bougouni Lithium Project in Southern Mali alongside joint venture partner Hainan Mining, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Fosun International.
The Bougouni Lithium Project covers 350km² in the world-class Birimian terrain of West Africa, located approximately 180km south of Mali's capital Bamako. The Stage 1 Dense Media Separation ('DMS') processing plant, which achieved first spodumene concentrate production in February 2025, has a target output of 125ktpa Li₂O spodumene concentrate. Stage 2 Floatation plant is expected to commence operations in 2028 with a forecast output of 230ktpa Li₂O.
Bougouni is owned by Les Mines de Lithium de Bougouni SA ('LMLB'), in which Kodal Mining UK Limited ('KMUK') holds a 65 per cent shareholding. Kodal has a 49 per cent shareholding in KMUK. The company also has a number of highly prospective gold assets in its diverse portfolio located in West Africa.
For more information on Kodal, please visit kodalminerals.com
The exploration results and activity reported in this announcement have been reviewed by Mr Bernard Aylward who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Aylward has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Qualified Person as defined in the AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies dated June 2009. Mr Aylward consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.
ENDRNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.