Mali has long been a gold mining hotspot, but two companies are looking to establish the country’s critical minerals credentials with the Goulamina lithium mine.
Leo Lithium and Ganfeng Lithium Group – China’s largest lithium chemicals producer – are joint venture (JV) partners in the Goulamina lithium project, which is set to begin spodumene concentrate production in the second quarter of 2024 ramping up to a Stage 1 production capacity of 506,000 tonnes per annum (tpa).
Goulamina has a mineral resource of 142.3 million tonnes (Mt) at 1.38 per cent lithium oxide and an ore reserve of 52Mt at 1.51 per cent lithium oxide. By comparison, Liontown Resources’ Kathleen Valley lithium project in WA has a mineral resource of 156Mt at 1.4 per cent lithium oxide and an ore reserve of 68.5Mt at 1.34 lithium oxide.
“Liontown is on a very similar scale and schedule to us – first production (in) mid next year and a 150–160 million tonne resource, which is where we’ll be shortly,” Leo Lithium managing director Simon Hay said at the 2023 RIU Sydney Resources Round-up.
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