Proactive Investors - Kodal Minerals PLC (LON:KOD) said the US$117.75 million funding transaction with Hainan Mining (SS:601969) has been completed today as the shares from the US$17.75 million equity subscription were admitted for trading.
The investment, which includes a US$100 million cash injection into Kodal's UK subsidiary company, provides full funding for the Bougouni lithium project in Mali, to not only continue development and begin production, but also for further exploration and development to expand the project.
Hainan now holds a 14.72% stake in Kodal Minerals and 51% of subsidiary Kodal Mining UK Ltd (KMUK), under the revised terms agreed last month.
Bougouni has a mining permit for an initial 12-year period, renewable in 10-year blocks until all resources are mined.
This covers a 97 sq km area that currently has a JORC mineral resource estimate of 31.9 million tonnes of lithium oxide at 1.06%, with recent drilling adding an estimated further 40%, the company also announced this week.
Kodal said Bougouni will be developed in two stages, starting by processing ore from the Ngoualana deposit through a dense media separation process plant that is currently under construction.
Later, ore will be processed from the Boumou and Sogola-Baoulé deposits through a flotation plant.
Last month, the company said development activity was progressing on- and off-site, including road upgrades to allow construction of site infrastructure to begin, and finalisation of the design of the processing plant, mine design and site optimisation.