Kodal Minerals has generated around $143 million in mine-level revenue from the first four shipments at its Bougouni lithium project in southern Mali and signed a binding deal to acquire up to 80 per cent of a project in Ghana.
Trading on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM), Kodal plc is the only London-listed miner with a stake in a producing lithium mine. The Bougouni site has operated since early 2025, producing spodumene concentrate and shipping it to China under a deal with controlling partner Hainan Mining, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Fosun International.
"Only one producing," chief executive Bernard Aylward said of Kodal's position on the London market. "That's us."
The first four cargoes exported through the West African port of San Pedro in Cote d'Ivoire were followed by a fifth shipment in the third quarter, with a sixth scheduled before the end of 2026. The Hainan loan that funded construction is now fully repaid, leaving the project debt-free and building cash inside the joint venture vehicle.
Bougouni production costs and margins
Production costs at Bougouni currently sit at around $600 per ton while spodumene trades at around $2,000 per ton. Broker Peel Hunt noted Kodal delivered two cargoes in the third quarter at margins of around $1,400 per ton, while broker Canaccord Genuity forecasts earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margins of 60 per cent this year, rising to 65 per cent to 70 per cent as the operation matures.
"All we can point to is the fact that we have a material interest in an operating mine," Aylward said. "The fuel and explosives supply has been consistent, and the export of product allows the operation to make money. The operation is continuing to do it. This year we've completed four shipments, with a fifth on the water now and we expect another one out before the end of the year. The value of Bougouni can't be missed forever."
Spodumene processing and Hainan partnership
Spodumene is the hard rock mineral from which lithium is extracted and refined into lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate for batteries. Kodal mines, concentrates and ships the ore using dense media separation (DMS), mixing crushed rock with a heavy liquid so lighter waste floats off and denser spodumene sinks. The DMS plant targets around 125,000 tons a year of concentrate grading around 5.3 per cent lithium oxide for Chinese refineries.
Hainan Mining joined as controlling partner after building a lithium hydroxide refinery in China's Hainan province and adding a lithium carbonate stream, seeking direct raw material rather than trading concentrate through middlemen. Hainan provided financial backing and downstream demand, while Kodal brought the asset and regional experience from Aylward, who has worked in West Africa since 2007.
"We didn't want to have the issue of dealing with traders buying and selling the product," Aylward said. "These guys want to use it. They're interested in lithium for the long term. Part of that whole chain from mining to processing to selling to battery manufacturers is what they want to do."
Phase 2 expansion at Bougouni
While the Phase 1 DMS plant runs, Kodal plans a Phase 2 expansion adding a flotation circuit to capture finer-grained lithium mineralisation that DMS cannot reach. Capital costs are estimated at $175 million to $200 million, funded from Bougouni's own cash flows and offtake finance without a dilutive equity raise. A Final Investment Decision is targeted by the end of 2026, with first production targeted for 2028.
"What we expect Phase 2 to achieve will be to scale total output capacity toward 230,000 to 250,000 tonnes per annum, twice as big as what we currently do, and if we can keep the DMS plant running as well, it's really great," Aylward said.
Asamankese lithium project in Ghana
Last week, Kodal also signed a binding earn-in agreement to acquire up to 80 per cent of the Asamankese lithium project in Ghana, about 75 kilometres (47 miles) from the capital, Accra. Kodal paid an entry cost of $300,000 for an initial 10 per cent stake, with staged spending over five years taking its interest to 80 per cent and an option to walk away at each earn-in gate. Rock samples have returned grades of up to 2.49 per cent lithium oxide, with drilling due to start before the end of 2026.
Asamankese sits in a stable democracy with an established mining code, on-site grid power, road access and a port 100 kilometres (62 miles) away. After visiting earlier this year, Aylward said: "Sometimes you see these projects and this is one of them. There's outcropping pegmatite mineralisation. Very coarse spodumene. It feels very obvious. A lot of what we're looking at now is similar to what we saw at Bougouni right at the start. This has the hallmarks of something with fundamentals that demonstrate real value for us."
Global electric vehicle and battery demand
Rising demand from electric vehicles and household and grid-scale battery storage systems for data centres, solar farms and wind projects continues to outpace lithium supply, widening the deficit each year. More than half of new vehicles sold in China and Norway are now electric, while new Canadian projects face a decade or more of regulatory processes and Australian producers run at capacity. "No one reverts back to a petrol vehicle once they've been in an electric," Aylward said. "It just grows."
"People factor in supply that's not available," he added, "and demand then becomes stronger."
Mali risks and Kodal share valuation
Still, Kodal holds an effective economic interest of around 32 per cent in Bougouni through holding companies where 51 per cent shareholder Hainan controls Phase 2 timing, export schedules and cash distributions, which most analysts do not expect to reach Kodal plc before 2028. Kodal is also in arbitration with holding company KMUK over a disputed $15 million payment made to the Malian government during licence migration, compared with roughly £13 million in cash held at the plc level.
Because Mali is governed by a military junta with conflict spreading south, Canaccord applies a 15 per cent discount rate to Bougouni, nearly double the sector average, even though operations in the Bougouni region remain unaffected. Trading at 0.28p, around a third of Canaccord's target price and below Peel Hunt's 0.70p target as the mine builds toward Phase 2, Kodal's share price implies just a 15 per cent probability that Phase 2 goes ahead, leaving the stock what Canaccord's October note called "overlooked and undervalued".
