The Goulamina lithium project in Mali is well into a 27-month development programme that will see first concentrate production in H1, 2024.
Looking at the technical side of the project, Hay says that Leo Lithium has opted for tried and trusted methods and technology. “We have no need to depart from conventional practice. Our orebody lends itself to standard truck-and-shovel open-pit mining while the ore can be treated using a well-established process route.
As Hay explains, Leo Lithium is a direct descendant of Birimian Gold. “Birimian became Mali Lithium in 2019 and Mali Lithium in turn changed its name to Firefinch.
A major step forward in logistics was recently achieved with the signing of an agreement between Leo Lithium (or, more specifically, its Malian subsidiary, LMSA) and Terminal Vraquier Abidjan (SEA-Invest) which secures storage for the Goulamina product at Abidjan for a period of ten years.
In August 2021, Hainan Mining announced the proposed investment of 1.065 billion yuan ($164 million) to develop a new processing plant to make battery-grade lithium hydroxide as a starting point of its move into the lithium sector, supporting the booming demand in the EV sector.
The high-grade lithium resource at the site is one of the largest in the world, with the mineral resource sitting at 108 Mt at 1.45% Li 2 O and the mineral reserve at 52 Mt at 1.51% Li 2 O. “In respect of lithium, we’re definitely first out of the starting gate in West Africa,” says Hay.