TIDMKOD
RNS Number : 7658M
Kodal Minerals PLC
18 September 2019
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under
the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR")
Kodal Minerals Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: KOD / Sector: Mining
18 September 2019
Kodal Minerals plc ('Kodal Minerals' or the 'Company')
Project Development and Exploration Update
Kodal Minerals, the mineral exploration and development company
focused on its Bougouni Lithium Project in southern Mali (the
'Project' or the 'Bougouni Project'), is pleased to provide this
update on recent activities.
Highlights:
Bougouni Project Development
-- Site visit to the San Pedro Port (the 'Port'), Côte d'Ivoire completed;
o Engagement with the Port authorities regarding the potential
export of spodumene concentrate; full support and availability
confirmed.
-- Receipt of indicative pricing on transport of spodumene
concentrate following discussions with an experienced shipping and
logistic service company with relevant experience of bulk commodity
transport throughout West Africa.
-- Continued improvements in the open pit ('Open Pit')
optimisation studies following discussions with experienced Malian
mining contractors confirming competitive mining costs for Bougouni
Open Pit operations.
-- Bulk sample loaded onto a ship and departed Dakar;
o Sample material is expected to arrive in the Shandong
province, China, in mid-October.
-- The bulk sample size will be processed through an existing
dense media separation ('DMS') facility, providing beneficial
information in support of processing and recoveries at an
operational scale.
Exploration
-- Final assay results received for the exploration drilling completed prior to the wet season;
o Broad zones of mineralisation confirmed at the Marigo prospect
and low-level mineralisation from the reconnaissance at the Mafele
concession.
-- Results include:
o 42m at 0.22% Li(2) O from 54m in drill hole MDRC131, Marigo
prospect;
o 17m at 0.35% Li(2) O from 58m and 31m at 0.23% Li(2) O from
91m in drill hole MDRC132, Marigo prospect.
-- Reconnaissance surface geochemical sampling completed at the
Dabakala and Korhogo concessions in Côte d'Ivoire.
-- Gold assay results confirm a coherent gold anomaly at
Dabakala extending for over 10km in strike with results up to 97ppb
gold.
-- Gold assay results at the Korhogo prospect confirm anomalous
zones extending for 2km with results up to 83ppb gold.
Bernard Aylward, CEO of Kodal Minerals, commented: "We are
continuing to de-risk our flagship asset, the Bougouni Lithium
Project, through the completion of our engineering studies. This
important technical work represents significant components of our
upcoming Feasibility Study and we are using the most experienced
consultants to ensure we achieve the best result. The finalisation
of the metallurgical test work programme, the review of the
proposed transport, port facilities and mining contractors all feed
into our mining optimisation studies and scheduling that will
complete the feasibility work.
"Our exploration programmes continue to highlight the potential
for further discoveries at both the Bougouni Project and Bougouni
West, while our reconnaissance geochemical sampling at our gold
projects in Côte d'Ivoire highlights additional value accretive
opportunities for the Company and our shareholders.
"As previously announced, our Environmental and Social Impact
assessment ('ESIA') has been lodged with the Mali Department of
Environment and is moving through the process of review and
approval, on which we look forward to updating our shareholders.
Following this process, we anticipate finalising the various
components of our Mining Licence application and lodging it with
the Malian authorities for approval. This is a transitional time
for Kodal and we would like to thank our operational and technical
teams for their efficiency in undertaking the various studies we
are undergoing as well as our shareholders for their ongoing
support. I look forward to updating the market in due course."
Further Information
Mine Engineering
Mine engineering for the Feasibility Study is well advanced and
Open Pit optimisations are nearing completion. Optimisations
indicate that processing of Ngoualana's material through the
DMS-only plant supports a mining plan focussed on extraction of
Ngoualana ores for an initial period of 2-3 years. This option
could provide the Company with a low-cost start-up operation that
will be supplemented with the deferred installation of a flotation
plant thereafter. This is continuing to be reviewed in studies and
the Company is consistently looking at the best option for the
development of the Project.
Detailed mine design and scheduling will commence following
completion of the Open Pit optimisation review, and it is estimated
that an initial mine life based on defined in-pit JORC resources
will extend over an 8-10 year period, with average concentrate
production in the order of 150,000-175,000 tonnes per annum of
saleable concentrate product.
Study phase engineering design work is complete for mining
geotechnical and non-process infrastructure, including office,
camp, access roads, water and power facilities. With the recent
completion of metallurgical test work, the mineral process
flowsheet definition has been finalised and now allows the Company
to move to finalising the plant engineering and supporting process
infrastructure designs for the study phase.
Bulk Sample and Metallurgy
The bulk sample has been dispatched from the Dakar port and is
expected to arrive in the Shandong province, China, in mid-October.
Following arrival at port in Shandong, the material will be
transported to the Ruifu Chemical lithium concentrator plant. This
plant comprises a 2Mtpa processing plant incorporating a DMS
circuit and floatation circuit. The proposed programme will see the
bulk sample treated through the plant and all stages of processing
will be monitored. Kodal will have its Project Manager and
engineering process consultants on site to oversee the work. The
results of this operational scale processing run will provide
valuable plant scale recovery data to both the off-take partner and
Kodal, the importance of which is often overlooked during the
feasibility phase.
Product Transport Study
The Company's management team visited the preferred port
facility for the load-out of final lithium concentrate, the
San-Pedro Port in Côte d'Ivoire. A meeting was held with key
representatives from the San Pedro Port Authority ('SPAP') who
escorted the Company's management team on a tour of the
facilities.
The visit included an inspection of the Port's container
handling facility, and importantly their bulk materials handling
establishments. SPAP is currently servicing exports of many bulk
commodities, including iron ore and manganese concentrate, most
notably, the iron ore export tonnes out of San Pedro are more than
double the Company's future demands. Very positive feedback was
received from SPAP personnel, expressing their interest to assist
with the Project, and providing the confidence that the San Pedro
Port has the knowledge and capacity to handle bulk material exports
for the Bougouni Project.
The Company has also completed a survey of the proposed
transport route from Bougouni to the San Pedro Port to confirm
suitability for bulk commodity transport. This information has been
supplied to the local logistic group who have confirmed suitability
of the preferred route.
Exploration
Bougouni Lithium Exploration
Final assay results have been received for the exploration
drilling completed at the Marigo Prospect, Bougouni Lithium
Project, and at the Mafele Concession, Bougouni West Project.
Marigo Prospect
The Marigo Prospect ('Marigo' or the 'Prospect') is defined by
geological mapping that identified outcropping pegmatite veins with
abundant coarse spodumene minerals. The Prospect is located mid-way
between the Boumou and Sogola-Baoule prospects and the pegmatite
veins are interpreted as striking in an east-west direction similar
to the other prospects in the region.
This first campaign drilling programme consisted of 4 drill
holes for 474m, with all holes intersecting pegmatite. The assay
results confirm that the pegmatites are mineralised, however in
this location the lithium mineralisation is low tenor. The review
of the drill hole location and drill chips indicate that the degree
of weathering and proximity to a creek area may have led to a
dilution of lithium in the weathering process. The wide zones of
shallow mineralisation are very encouraging, and the Company is
focussing on the strike extensions of the Prospect in areas where
there is less weathering and potential impact of dilutive activity.
This weathering effect has previously been noted at the Ngoualana
and Sogola-Baoule prospects where the zones closest to active
drainages and deeper weathering have demonstrated reduced lithium
grades, similar to the Finniss project in Darwin of Core Lithium
and Greenbushes of Talison Lithium in Australia.
Mineralised intersections for the reverse circulation ('RC')
drilling calculated using a 0.2% Li(2) O lower cut-off, maximum 2m
internal continuous dilution are tabled below:
Hole
Depth From To Thickness Li(2)
Hole Id Northing Easting m m m m O %
MDRC129 653960 1254800 103 28 33 5 0.23
--------- -------- ------- ------ ------ ---------- ------
MDRC130 653795 1254785 127 40 50 10 0.21
--------- -------- ------- ------ ------ ---------- ------
MDRC130 70 79 9 0.20
--------- -------- ------- ------ ------ ---------- ------
MDRC130 99 104 5 0.20
--------- -------- ------- ------ ------ ---------- ------
MDRC131 653700 1254800 120 54 96 42 0.22
--------- -------- ------- ------ ------ ---------- ------
MDRC132 653700 1254740 124 58 75 17 0.35
--------- -------- ------- ------ ------ ---------- ------
MDRC132 91 122 31 0.23
--------- -------- ------- ------ ------ ---------- ------
Notes: Drill holes are RC drill holes. Drill holes prefixed
MDRC* are from the Marigo prospect located within the Madina
concession. Drill holes have been sampled on a 1.0 basis with
samples collected via a riffle split system. Drill hole collars are
surveyed using a differential GPS with sub 1-metre accuracy,
coordinate system WGS84 - Zone 29N, and all holes are survey
down-hole for dip and azimuth on approximately 30m intervals. All
drill holes are geologically logged, and sampling for analysis in
based on geological boundaries. Samples analysed by ALS Global.
Assay results are reported as Li% and converted to Li(2) O% by a
factor of 2.153.
Mafele Concession
The Mafele Concession is located approximately 25km to the west
of the Bougouni Lithium Project and was acquired by Kodal in
February 2019. The maiden drilling programme was a reconnaissance
drill test of several geological and geophysical targets.
All drill holes intersected lithium mineralised pegmatite
bodies, however, the lithium grade was generally low. Further
exploration activity will focus on targeting the pegmatite ones in
areas of less weathering and attempt to define zones of thicker
pegmatite veins.
Côte d'Ivoire Gold Exploration
Kodal maintains a suite of prospective gold exploration gold
projects in Mali and Côte d'Ivoire. During the wet season, the
Company has taken the opportunity to send a field crew to Côte
d'Ivoire to undertake a programme for regional geochemical sampling
at the 100% owned Dabakala and Korhogo projects in north-central
Côte d'Ivoire.
The geochemical sampling consisted of conventional surface
samples and termite mound sampling (where available) on a nominal
2km x 200m sample spacing at Dabakala (225 samples), infilling an
area of previously defined gold anomalism, and a nominal 1km x 200m
spacing at Korhogo (190 samples) targeting infill at several gold
anomalous zones and structural targets within the Korhogo
project.
The Dabakala project is a single concession in central Côte
d'Ivoire where previous work completed by the Company highlighted
an extensive surface geochemical anomaly and field geological
mapping indicated the association of sheared and altered geology
associated with the anomaly. This is a large surface anomaly,
extending for over 10km of strike and up to 800m in width and
exploration is at an early stage. The follow-up work completed by
the company infilled the anomaly to a nominal 1km x 200m spacing
over the key anomaly (and notes that still is very wide and
reconnaissance level) and assay results received confirm the
anomaly with results up to 97ppb returned and confirming the extent
of the anomaly. Further work is required to define this prospect
prior to initial drill testing.
The Korhogo project is a single concession is north central Côte
d'Ivoire and several phases of geochemical sampling has defined
surface geochemical anomalies. The recent sampling by the company
has confirmed gold anomalous zones extending for over 2kms in
strike and up to 600m in width. Further exploration is required to
review these targets and prioritise further work.
The Company is continuing to review opportunities for the
prospective suite of gold projects.
**ENDS**
For further information, please visit www.kodalminerals.com or
contact the following:
Kodal Minerals plc
Bernard Aylward, CEO Tel: +61 418 943
345
Allenby Capital Limited, Nominated Adviser
Jeremy Porter/Nick Harriss Tel: 020 3328
5656
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP, Financial
Adviser & Broker Tel: 020 3470
John Mackay 0470
St Brides Partners Ltd, Financial PR
Catherine Leftley/Cosima Akerman Tel: 020 7236
1177
About Kodal Minerals
Kodal Minerals' primary focus is on the rapid advancement
towards production of its flagship Bougouni Lithium Project in
Southern Mali. The JORC Resource Estimate places the Bougouni
Project in the top 15 hard rock lithium projects globally and was
calculated using only three of the eight currently recognised
prospects demonstrating the significant exploration upside
potential remaining across the 450km(2) project area. The Mineral
Resource estimate for the Ngoualana, Sogola-Baoule and Boumou
prospects are tabulated below. These mineral resources are reported
in accordance with the JORC Code:
Prospect Indicated Inferred Total
Contained Contained Contained
Li(2) Li(2) Li(2) Li(2) Li(2) Li(2)
Tonnes O% O Tonnes O% O Tonnes O% O
(Mt) Grade (kt) (Mt) Grade (kt) (Mt) Grade (kt)
------- ------- ---------- ------- ------- ---------- ------- ------- ----------
Sogola_Baoule 8.4 1.09 91.9 3.8 1.13 42.8 12.2 1.10 134.8
------- ------- ---------- ------- ------- ---------- ------- ------- ----------
Ngoualana 3.1 1.25 39.2 2.0 1.12 22.1 5.1 1.20 61.3
------- ------- ---------- ------- ------- ---------- ------- ------- ----------
Boumou 4.0 1.02 40.4 4.0 1.02 40.4
------- ------- ---------- ------- ------- ---------- ------- ------- ----------
TOTAL 11.6 1.13 131.2 9.7 1.08 105.3 21.3 1.11 236.5
------- ------- ---------- ------- ------- ---------- ------- ------- ----------
Notes: Mineral resources are reported using a 0.5%Li(2) O
cut-off. Figures may not sum due to rounding. The contained metal
is determined by the estimated tonnage and grade.
The Bougouni Project and recently acquired 200km(2) Bougouni
West project are located in an emerging lithium province that is
already attracting the attention of investors and off-take partners
interested in securing a long-term supply of lithium. With the
support of its strategic investor and off-take partner Suay Chin
International Pte, a Singapore-based lithium and chemical trader,
Kodal Minerals is well positioned to continue its ambitious
development programme at Bougouni.
Further to this, Kodal Minerals is the manager of additional
lithium and gold projects that are undergoing low cost exploration
programmes in addition to JV funded gold properties in Côte
d'Ivoire that offer potentially significant long-term value.
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.
END
UPDKMGMLKRVGLZG
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 18, 2019 02:01 ET (06:01 GMT)
Kodal Minerals (LSE:KOD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Kodal Minerals (LSE:KOD)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024